The Curse of the Master
by E-Sharp777
Summary: The would-be Queen has fled, her secret having been finally revealed. The kingdom of Arendelle, once prosperous, now lies in eternal winter on the brink of rebellion. In the meantime, the Queen is being tracked by a mysterious hunter and goes on a quest to find out the truth about her powers. The fate of all Europe may hang in the balance if she fails. Please R&R!
1. Authors Note

In late November, 2009, in the basement of a long abandoned building in Arendal, Norway, a book was found called _The Chronicles of the Norwegian People_. After being examined and cross examined by many of the worlds leading archeologists and historians it was confirmed that the book was the most accurate and historically reliable document to date on Norway's history during the eighteen-hundreds, in spite of it's shocking claims.

The book was written by King Albert, the last king of Arendelle. According to his writings, in the mid seventeen hundreds, due to various civil conflict, the country was divided into five smaller countries; Arendelle, Iris, Drenmat, Gremlock, and Norway. The Kingdom of Arendelle was located on the best harbor in the country, making it the leading center of trade for the other kingdoms and countries in Europe as well. It quickly became the richest of the five kingdoms. The Kingdom of Norway, meanwhile, was creating a massive military and in the late 1800s sacked the other kingdoms and found them completely defenseless. King Albert surrendered to the king of Norway and saved his kingdom from complete destruction. The king of Norway then reunited the kingdoms into one country once again, the country of Norway, after his own kingdom.

This story takes place in the 1840's, forty years before the fall of Arendelle. The story of Elsa was first captured by Hans Christian Andersen in 1884, who heard the story from various rumors and turned his bits and pieces into a story he called, _The Snow Queen_. Centuries later, Walt Disney Animation Studios picked up on the story and released the animated film, _Frozen, _based loosely on Anderson's story. However, both of these stories are far cries from the true story, but now that we have the _Chronicles, _we can somewhat put together the pieces. There is still much debate and speculation on the things Albert wasn't as careful to recollect in his book, so I've done my best to put the pieces together into as accurate a retelling of this story can get. I hope you enjoy learning the facts as much as I enjoyed researching it.

***NOTE*** The name of Elsa's sister, Anna, has no historical accuracy and is purely fictional. We learn from various sources that Elsa did have a sister, but what her name was, we aren't told. The same goes for the character of the "Gravedigger", Jonathan. Perhaps with more research, one day we will discover them.

~E. Sharp

_**This story is rated T for fantasy action/violence and some language. In case you were wondering. **_


	2. Chapter 1

White against a black backdrop. Cold against the winter air. Snow upon the barren ground.

White-capped mountains surrounded her. There was precious little light, just the moon, veiled by layers of clouds. Now and then it would peek out, as if to look down in suspense and curiosity at the bloodbath about to take place. She stood there, fists clenched, preparing herself. She had done it many times, but it never got easier. No matter how many people she was forced to kill she still shivered at the thought of another. She wondered why as she faced the valley below. The lights traveling up the mountain slowly. There was nothing she could do but stand and wait. Wait. Wait. A short wait that felt like an eternity.

Elsa couldn't fathom why that damned steward of Arendelle kept sending his troops to try to hunt her down. He could never summon a large enough force to bring her back with Arendelle being stuck in it's worst winter in centuries. Crop failure, blizzards and disease had crippled it's army, but yet he was content to waste those well enough to fight trying to find her and capture her.

Of course, could she really blame him? The whole mess was her fault.

The soldiers arrived. She didn't realize how long she had allowed her thoughts to run wild. A group of about fifty soldiers stood in front of her. More than last time but still not enough. They were suited up in heavy winter clothes with armor over them, swords strapped to their belts, horses at their sides. She couldn't see many of the soldiers through the dark veils of their hoods, but she noticed a few. Young, innocent eyes. Some of those soldiers couldn't have been more than sixteen year of age. Another internal part of her died. She hated herself just a bit more.

She looked hardly prepared for battle, dressed in a light jacket, jeans and boots. One of the solders stepped forward, his torch glowing red against the white against the black. She guessed he was the leader, although when he spoke, she heard the fear in his voice. "Elsa, we've been given orders from the Steward to arrest you and deliever you back to Arendelle. We have also been given permission to execute you if you should not cooperate." Same as always. She barked a cold, bitter laugh, it was so ridiculous. "Then it looks like you'll have to execute me." The soldier nodded his head gravely and started barking orders to his soldiers. They got into formation. She didn't make a sound. She would let them make the first move. Finally the soldier ordered his troops to charge. They neared closer. Twenty feet. Ten feet.

She prepared herself. She felt a gust of cold energy rising through her body, starting in her feet, traveling through her heart and into her hands. She formed an image in her mind of what she wanted, and a moment later, a dagger of ice appeared in her hand. A long, sharp blade that glowed blue in the light of the torches. All that took place in a single moment.

After a cursory scan of the group, she found the eyes of one of the younger ones and shot it at him. The ice impaled him and he dropped to his knees. A gasp of agony escaped him. She had hoped maybe if she could give them a good enough shock, they'd leave, and she wouldn't have to kill them all. It was a slim chance, she knew, but still a chance.

The group stopped and stared, mouths agape. Some said his name, Newt, she thought she heard. The dagger of ice began to melt under the warm blood that oozed through the boy's wound, that soaked into his clothes and dripped onto the white snow, the earth soaking it up like a vampire, thirsty for the blood of the innocent.

Finally he dropped to the ground, and all was silent.

Then, as one, every head turned towards her. She saw it in their eyes before they charged. Her idea hadn't worked. She drew her hand back then shot it forward, releasing a handful of daggers. They impaled a few in the chest. The rest finally came out of their stupor and charged.

She created a long sword of ice that she parried blows with while firing more ice daggers. Not all of them found their marks, but some did, sending more cries of agony through the ranks. She stabbed a soldier with her blade, leaving it a coat of red, but it didn't melt, as she gave it new ice every second, sustaning the blade with her mind. She shot more daggers. More cries. Parry. Stab. Daggers. Agony.

She couldn't take it anymore. She stabbed another soldier then retreated farther back. What was left of the army prepared to chase. From within herself she summoned a masive amount of strength, then formed an image in her mind of what she wanted done. Then she released it in a display of ice and power.

A wave of ice exploded from in front of her and covered the soldiers head to toe, freezing them instantly. She willed the ice to harden, thicken, constrict them like a snake does it's victim. Somehow she knew when they died. She released her will on the ice. Fifteen statues of ice stood in the clear landscape between the mountains. Small indentations showed remains of faces in the ice, but the statues were so thick it was impossible to tell. Just fifteen pillars of snow surrounded by dead bodies.

She dropped into the snow and silently wept. Not a single tear dropped from her eyes, but she cried inside. Why, why, why did it have to be this way? Why was she forced to kill these innocent people, just following the orders of a mad man?

Why. Why? Why?!


	3. Chapter 2

**An update a day keeps...well, keeps people interested, mainly. Sorry, I suck at poetry. Anywho, enjoy the chapter! Any questions, comments, concerns, criticism, leave a review! All are welcome. :-) ~E-Sharp**

With her pack on her back, Elsa trudged through the snow.

The fight that night had worn her out. She rarely had to fight that many soldiers at once, but despite it all, she kept walking. There was nothing else to do but walk.

Her eyelids drooped. She felt her heart grow heavy, like someone had stuffed weights into them, trying to pull her to the ground. Her body begged for rest. Her legs felt like rubber. She felt her pulse in her forehead and hurt with every heartbeat. She knew she was falling asleep but was determined to walk as far as she could. Finally, she drifted off, and the last thing she remembered was the pain of hitting the hard packed snow.

Elsa loved snow. It was cold, which didn't bother her in the slightest, and somehow beautiful. Powerful, harsh, destructive, but still beautiful. Just like her.

When she opened her eyes she looked up. First she saw blue sky, then the snow. It was a comforting thing to wake up to. She sat up. The snow had frozen on her clothes, making them extremely stiff and uncomfortable, but she knew they would thaw out as she walked.

She pulled the straps to her pack off her shoulders and opened it to examine it's contents. She was running extremely low and would need to restock soon. She hated people in general, but knew she would starve if she didn't replenish her supplies. So she stood up, stretched, slid her pack on her shoulders and started walking once again.

She walked the whole day, eating the last of her food. When she became thirsty she scooped up some clean snow and ate it. She grew weary as the day wore on, but as the sun set in the west, behind one of the great mountains, a town came into view in a small valley.

The town of Winston was extremely small, with a population of one to two hundred people. It was ideal. The less people see you the less people can recognize you. She had been there before and knew a few who would help her.

She descended into the valley and entered the town. One street cut through two lines of log houses, one line on either side of the road. People milled about, finishing their day, going home to rest. A few children played in the street. Smoke billowed from the chimneys, smells of dinner wafting through the air.

She drew her hood close to her face, hoping against hope that no one would recognize her. She hadn't seen any soldiers, but she couldn't be sure just yet.

One log house at the end of the street was much larger than the others; the town inn and tavern for travelers and soldiers. A few children stopped to watch her as she walked up to it and knocked on the door. She waited a few beats, then she heard the sound of heavy footsteps. The door swung outward and in it's place a burly man stood. He had a wisp of orange hair, a red-blonde musache, and bulging biceps. He looked like a lumberjack, but was actually just Bard, the innkeeper and bartender. He blinked when he saw her and squinted to see her under the dark of her hood.

"Elsa?" he whispered. She shushed him and put a finger to her lips even though no one could have heard that nearly silent word, which now adays, meant the difference between poverty and rich living. He nodded and beckoned with a hand. "Come in, come in." Elsa nodded her thanks and stepped in. He glared at the kids watching and they all scattered.

The hallway was warm and smokey. She heard a few people in the bar to her left, but Bard's bulky figure hid her from view of the tavern. She turned to her right towards the rooms, and after shutting the door, he followed her towards the end of the hallway.

"Sorry for the short notice," Elsa apologized half-heartedly.

He waved it off. "Ahh, no trouble." He whispered with a thick accent. "How're ye faring?"

She shrugged. "More of the same. You know."

He nodded his understanding. She finally asked the question she'd been avoiding. "Any soldiers in town?"

He shook his head. "It's yer lucky day, lass. A group just checked out yesterday." Elsa released a deep breath. She'd learned in her experiences to trust no one, but if she could trust anyone in the world, it would be Bard.

He pulled a key ring off his belt loop, then pulled a key off the ring and handed it to her. "Here ya are. Number four. Make yerself comfortable."

"Thank you." she whispered.

He smiled, revealing dimples on his cheeks, and nodded. "Anytime." Then he walked back into the tavern.

Elsa turned the key in the lock and walked into her room. It was small, with nothing but a bed and desk, but it was fine for her. Undereath her feet were wooden boards and above her head logs sealed together with pitch, keeping the air warm and comfortable. She pulled off her boots, then socks, then stripped down to her undergarments, hanging her soaked clothes on the table to dry. Then she laid down on the bed and enveloped herself in the blankets, and let her mind drift off to sleep.

After supper and some rest, Elsa dressed and walked out into the tavern. She needed a drink.

Elsa wasn't normally fond of alchohol, but every once in a while something light was nice. Especially after a night like the one she had experienced. She walked to the counter, where Bard stood polishing a glass, even though it looked perfectly spotless.

"Do you ever sleep?" she asked with a slight smile.

He chuckled and shook his head. "Ah, sleep's a bit harder for me to come by these days. Would ye like a drink?"

"Just a small cup of ale, please." He nodded and turned to prepare it.

Elsa looked around at the tavern. A couple of animal heads hung from one wall, on another old paintings. The room was completely empty except for three men speaking in hushed tones at a table. Elsa sat down at a table on the other end of the room and tapped her fingers on the wooden surface.

Bard walked over after a moment and set her drink on the table. Elsa thanked him and took a sip while Bard sat across from her. She wished he wouldn't, she didn't like small talk very much.

"Strange things happening these days, eh?" he started.

"Strange like what?" Elsa asked.

He gave her a curious look. "I'd think you would know, being, er, _you_, you know. Hans is running a muck of the kingdom-"

"_Apart _from Arendelle. What other news is there?"

"Strange rumors, you see. Strange things happening farther north I hear tell."

She rolled her eyes, exsasperated. "Specifically."

He thought for a moment. "A few travellers last week were speaking of packs of giant wolves. A few northern kingdoms been having some problems with..." He lowered his voice. "Sorcerers."

Elsa laughed in disbelief. "Sorcerers? Seriously, Bard?"

"No, these people were dead serious about it all."

She smiled. "I think you've been drinking a bit too much. Or getting too little sleep. Or both."

He smiled slightly, a look of thought still on his face. "Well, I wouldn't have believed the queen of Arendelle would have not only ice magic, but would have been staying at my inn as a fugitive, a few months ago, either. But whadaya know."

Elsa was silent for a moment. He had a point. He stood up to walk away but she grabbed him by the arm. "Bard," she whispered, "who are those men?"

Bard looked over at the table where the strangers sat. "No idea," he answered. "They came in earlier. Didn't talk much. By their dress I'd say they're from farther north though." Then he walked back behind the counter.

It didn't matter to Elsa where they had come from, something about them was putting her on edge. She finished her drink, stood up and started walking back to her room. She was nearing the hallway when she turned around to take one last glance at the strangers. One of them was looking right at her. She looked away so quickly she didn't have time to notice any features. She walked briskly back to her room, closed the door and locked it. Had he recognized her?

Early that morning, Elsa was roused from her sleep.

She had been having an uncomfortable dream she couldn't recall, but she thought it had something to do with that young man she had killed. She usually could control her dreams, but recently they were becoming more real, more vivid, harder to disperse. She was silent as she listened for whatever it was that had woke her up. After a minute, she closed her eyes, satisfied that the dream had awoken her. Then came the knock at the door.

Her heart skipped a beat. She sat up, prepared for a fight, daggers of ice forming in her hands on instinct. After a moment she carefully set the daggers on the floor then pulled of the blankets. As she was wearing nothing but her undergarments, she silently pulled on her jacket and walked to the door. She rested her hand on the door handle, preparing a wave of icy energy from deep within her, and slowly opened it. As her eyes adjusted she saw, in the door frame, the figure of a man. As she looked closer she realized it was the same man who had been staring at her the previous night.

"Elsa," he said so quietly it was almost impossible to hear, "you have to leave. Now."

How did he know her name?

"Who are you?" she asked.

"My name isn't important," he said in that same whisper, "You have to leave town, now."

"Why?"

"Would take too long to explain."

"How can I trust you?" she asked.

He was silent for a moment. "You can't," he answered finally, "but if you remain in the town til tomorrow morning...you could die. If you leave now, right now, you'll make it."

Elsa was silent as she thought. Why should she believe him? Maybe he's working for Arendelle and wants to bring her into the open for capture. Maybe she should just kill him now. Wait, where was that thought coming from?

She had nothing to lose if he was lying. She could fight off a group of soldiers. But if he was telling the truth...

Her curiosity got the best of her. "Give me five minutes." she finally said. He nodded and she shut the door. As she dressed she was glad she had refilled her supplies the previous day. She tied the laces on her boots, slung her pack over her shoulder, and opened the door again. He still stood there, silently.

"Come on," he said, and without another word walked down the hallway towards the door. Elsa followed, leaving a stack of coins on the bar counter for Bard, who was probably fast asleep in the back

They walked into the cold night. Elsa started walking in the opposite direction of the way she had come, but the stranger stopped her.

"No, no, not that way! He'll be waiting for you."

Elsa stopped in her tracks. "Who? Who will be waiting for me?"

"No time!" he whispered fircely and grabbed her arm. By instinct a burst of energy shot from her and covered his hand in a thin layer of frost and ice. He pulled his hand away and let out a sound of pain.

Elsa immediately felt bad. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." She said quickly. She now sincerely believed he was trying to help her and didn't want to burn this bridge, if only for the information about who he kept talking about.

He lifted his good hand. "It's fine, it's fine. Come on." And he started sprinting towards the way she had come. She followed.

They were almost clear of the city when there was a sharp _THUNK _to her left. The stranger swore and moved faster. She thought he was murmuring "he found us".

There was another _THUNK_, but this was much different. It was softer, accompanied by a spluttering sound and then a cusioned thump. Elsa stopped. In front of her the stranger lay crumpled in a heap on the ground. She rushed over after a moment to see what had happened. There he lay in the snow, a large arrow sticking out of his side. Another _THUNK _sounded somewhere to her right. She knew she had to hurry. As much as it sickened her, she knew if she was going to figure out who'd killed him, who was hunting her, she'd need clues. She grabbed the arrow with both hands and pulled. With a sickening sound and a spray of blood the arrow came loose. She felt a small twinge of sadness that there was nothing she could do for him, but with another _THUNK _that feeling ended. She held tight to the massive arrow and ran off, outside the city, and didn't stop until dawn.


	4. Chapter 3

**What does Santa suffer from if he gets stuck in the chimney? **_**Claustrophobia! **_

**Well hope you all have had a good week and enjoy the chapter. And I hope some of you got a laugh out of that joke too. :-)**

**Shout outs:**

**Megan: Thanks! I'm trying, I'm trying! Once a day seems to be working well so maybe I'll take it up a notch. :-)**

Elsa had seen a lot of people die, but never something quite as bizarre as that. As soon as she had fled Winston the surprise and shock of the whole thing had finally caught up with her, but despite it all, she kept moving.

Elsa wasn't sure of much in those days, but she was sure of a couple things. One, she was being hunted. By whom, she couldn't imagine. As far as she knew it could be anyone. Arendelle, one of the other kingdoms, peasants, the viking gods, who knew? Second, she knew she _had_ to find out who. Third, she knew one person who might just have the information she needed. If anyone knew, he would.

Her parents didn't do very much travelling when she was growing up, but once after her parents had travelled east to discuss politics and treaties with the Kingdom of Drenmat, upon their return, her father told her they came into a small town that was built for ice harvesters of Arendelle during the winter. He told her he had met a sage there named Soren who was wise beyond compare. It wasn't much to hold onto, but it was something. A new goal.

She travelled in a south-east direction. It took a day and a half to get there, the arrow that had killed the stranger sticking out of her pack. There were no signs of anything unusual along the way. No arrows, packs of giant wolves, nothing. Elsa wasn't sure if she should be comforted or concerned.

Finally, Elsa walked down the hill above the small town. It was much different than the one she had come from, much larger, and instead of two straight lines of buildings they were scattered in every which direction, a maze of log houses, and in the center of the town was the tavern, interestingly enough.

It was just past noon when Elsa walked into town, hood up, staying to the shadows. Not many people milled about, as the men did their work at night and were sleeping about this time. She made her ways through the maze of homes and markets to the center of the town, the tavern. She had learned that if you needed common information about any town, the first place to go to was the tavern.

Elsa quietly walked in, keeping her hood close to her face. He tavern was much larger than the one in the last town. Animal heads lined all the walls. Most of the place was empty, just a few people enjoying a drink.

She walked up to the counter where a short, bald, middle aged man was writing a letter on the counter. He looked up at her as she came closer. "G'day! Can I help ya?"

Elsa took a look behind her. No one seemed interested. "I'm looking for Soren. Any idea where I might find him?"

The bartender squinted at her face, his eyebrows coming together in question. After a moment he answered, "Ye, he lives outside on the city on the west side. Can't miss it. He doesn't fancy being bothered though, mind you."

She nodded. "Thank you."

He looked like he wanted to ask something but she turned away and walked out the door before he could say a word.

Elsa walked west again, slipping by log buildings until she made it outside the town. A hundred yards or so away was a forest that stretched out into the foothills of the mountains far beyond. At first she didn't see it. She turned in a full circle and then noticed it off to the right. He was right, you couldn't miss it. It was a small, crude, one room log cabin. Smoke rose from a small chimney. She walked towards it, to the front, where a thin wooden door stood. She couldn't understand how the door handle could even function in a door so thin. She reached out her hand and knocked twice. A few moments of silence, except for her steady breaths, then some shuffling and mumbling from inside. The door swung inward, revealing a short man dressed in animal skins. He had a wisp of gray hair, wrinkles all over his skin, and blue, weathered eyes.

"Are you Soren?" Elsa asked in her most polite voice. He nodded, but said nothing. "I would like to ask you a question. I'm looking for someone and was wondering if you could help."

He cocked his head. "Who?" he asked. His voice cracked.

"A hunter, I believe."

His eyes glinted and he stepped out of the way. "Come, come in!"

After a moment's hesitation she stepped inside. He shut the door behind her and beckoned with a hand to a small couch on one side of the pathetic looking fireplace, a layer of dust coating the seat. She sat down carefully as not to stir it. He sat across from her in an overstuffed armchair after getting his pipe. He lit it up and looked over at her. Excitement shown in his eyes. She guessed he was just happy to have something interesting to do.

"So, what do ya have for me?" he asked. Elsa took off her pack, slid the arrow out, and handed it to him. He did a cursory inspection of it. "Who was killed? Friend of yours?"

"Complete stranger, actually."

"So why do you want to know?" Elsa was tongue tied for a moment.

"I guess it just shook me up is all."

He nodded, but eyed her suspiciously. "Well, the length of the arrow means longbow, long bow means tall person. I'd say he's about seven to eight feet tall, and this style of arrow is similar to those made farther north out of the thicker wood. I think that's your best bet."

Elsa bit her lip. "Anywhere specifically?"

He shrugged. "Iris would be a good place to start. If not there, try a couple of the towns outside of the city." Elsa's heart sank. That's what she had been afraid of.

Before she could say anything though, the old man started laughing. Not a chuckle, a full out, hearty laugh. Elsa's heart nearly stopped. He was finally able to compose himself. "Ah, yes. This should be most interesting. Most interesting indeed."

Elsa swallowed. Something was wrong. "Well," she said, "thank you for your help. I'll be on my way now." She leaped to the floor, not caring if the dust scattered, grabbed her pack and walked briskly to the door. It was locked. She tried harder. How could such a thin door be locked so securely?

"I thought I recognized something about you," The sage said. She turned to face him. "Yes, this will be most interesting."

She summoned strength from within her. Frost began to collect on the ceiling. The air grew cold.

"Oh, my dear, there's no need for that." the old man chided. The door swung open on it's own accord. Elsa stared outside, then back at the old man.

"You aren't going to report me?" she asked, confused.

"Report you?" he repeated. "To whom? The soldiers? Those fools can't do anything against you. No, go, be on your way. I'm looking forward to seeing how this ends."

Elsa cut off her power. The frost stopped gathering and the air warmed. "What do you want in return for your help?" she asked carefully.

"Nothing at all." he said. "The show will be more than enough. Be on your way." He extended his arm to hand the arrow to her. Elsa hesitated, then grabbed it and ran outside.

The whole thing was a bit disturbing. The fact that he _let her go. _She had been recognized before, and always had soldiers to deal with, but no one had ever let her go, except old friends like Bard. Elsa had a gut feeling that things were about to get really bad. Really fast.

As she considered what her next step would be, she got an uneasy feeling. The sound of her feet crushing in the snow sounded just a bit...off. She turned her head over her shoulders and sure enough, someone was walking just behind her. He was wearing a dark cloak and hood, completely hiding his face. Elsa started walking back into the city, the stranger following from a distance. As soon as she step foot in the town, she took off running. She made a hard right at a fork in the road, running full speed. She risked a look behind her. The stranger was matching her speed perfectly, running in long strides, keeping the distance between them but not losing her. Elsa ran faster. She made a u-turn into an alley with garbage bags on left and right sides. Mice scurried out from under her feet as she ran. She bounded over a bag in the path and kept running. As soon as she was back to the street, she took another right, but all for nothing, because he was still following her. She knew she could kill him easily, but she wanted to avoid that if possible. Plus, that would expose her, if she hadn't been exposed already.

People dived left and right to get out of her way. She kept running, not caring how it looked. Whoever it was obviously wasn't interested in exposing her, just following her. She would have been more comfortable if he had just called a hundred soldiers to chase her.

Finally she burst into the open air. She gasped for breath, but didn't stop. She was determined to let the stranger follow her into the mountains until he wore himself out. But her plans were cut short.

There was a familiar _THUNK. _The sickening kind. Elsa knew what had happened before she turned around. The stranger was laying face down in the snow, an unusually long arrow protruding from his lower back. The exact same arrow as Elsa's.

Blood spilled from the wound onto the snow, coloring it red. The man's hood had fallen off, and Elsa could see him now. She knew she should run, but her eyes were glued to him.

With what looked like an incredible burst of effort, he lifted his head. Blood spilled from the corner of his mouth. His eyes were blue and lifeless, like an ocean with no wind, no current, no movement.

The agony was present in his voice when he spoke. "Elsa." He said through a haze of pain. "Find the...The Gravedigger." And his head dropped into the snow. His heaving breaths stopped. Elsa stared in silence for a moment, then took off running once again, up the hill and into the mountains, putting as much distance between her and the town as possible. This time she didn't try to ignore the shock. She let it feed her. She channeled it into her legs and kept herself moving. She knew where the answers lay. She knew where she had to go. The place she dreaded most, next to Arendelle.

Iris.


	5. Chapter 4

**That's the thing about fanfictions...they demand to be written.**

**Hope you all are enjoying the story so far. Again, if you have any thoughts, comments concerns, criticism, please leave a review! I use FF for practice for my original books so any advice or constructive criticism is greatly appreciated. :-)**

Kristoff was tired.

It had been a long week. Well, actually it had been a long month. But now especially, he was exhausted.

He rode silently in his one person sleigh pulled by his Reindeer, Sven, back to Arendelle. He wasn't especially excited about returning. The city had become a mad house. Things were becoming...he was too tired for thoughts like that.

He enjoyed the silence. Nothing but the sound of Sven's hooves. He could almost believe everything was well in the world. It was, after all, a beautiful winter. If you could call it that, considering it was only August. It was the earliest winter in Arendelle's history, which was great for ice harvesters like him. Made for more work, which made for better pay. But for the rest of the city, not so much.

Finally Arendelle came into the sight as they descended the mountain, snapping Kris back to reality. The city didn't look so bad from the distance. As he drew closer though, things started to become clearer.

While the gate still stood strong, the guard was pathetic. Everyone he passed outside the city had a sickly look to them, their faces thin, their eyes empty. He scanned the crowd for the person he was looking for.

Kris saw him in the distance. He looked a bit more cheery than the other people milling about. He was a head shorter than Kris, had wrinkles around his eyes, graying hair and a close cut salt-and-pepper beard. His eyes were blue and warm.

Kris stopped the sleigh a few feet from him and hopped out. "About time you got here," the man said, putting his hands on his hips. "I was beginning to think you'd never come."

A broad smile spread across Kris' face. The man began to chuckle and grinned. "Good to see you again, Albert." Kris said as they embraced. "It's been too long."

"That it has, my boy, that it has." Albert pulled away and examined him. "You look good. Been dieting?" Kris laughed and hopped back in the sleigh, Albert right behind him. It was a tight fit, but it worked.

"So how's ice harvesting buisness been?" Albert asked. "Ready for a vacation?"

"Definately." Kris replied as Sven started moving. "Not much to tell there. How's the school been?"

"Not bad. Lots of reading. Lots of writing. Lots of talking to freezing sick kids who don't give a damn about what I'm telling 'em."

"How's your book coming?"

"Er, it's slow. Not much time for study with, well, you know." Kris nodded.

The kingdom of Arendelle was beautiful in it's prime. It's magnificent castle, one of the largest and richest among the other kingdoms, stretched out and sat on the ocean among the ships in the harbor. Among the hillsides on the coast were the villages, homes and markets stretched out among the foothills, some larger estates reaching farther up in the hills.

The villages and the city were protected on all sides; the west and south by the ocean and the east and north by a fifteen foot tall wall, the prize building construction of Arendelle's first king, next to his luxurious palace.

They reached one of the eastern gates of the wall. Kris brought Sven to a halt in front of two sickly looking soldiers. One was tall and thin, the other short and stout.

"Names?" The tall one asked, sounding bored.

Albert spoke up. "Albert, the school master, and Kristoff the ice harvester."

He nodded and signaled to the short one, and the wooden gates were opened for them.

"Guard's been a bit lazy last few weeks," Albert explained after they were inside. "I could be smuggling in a criminal and they wouldn't know, just because they recognized me."

"I see a lot of young faces in the guard." Kris said.

"Better to discuss it when we get to the house," Albert said quietly. So they rode on in silence.

Every once in a while a small group of soldiers would pass. They kept looking younger and younger. It was even worse inside of the city. People milled about with no general purpose, hunched over, avoiding eye contact. Children played in the muddy street without smiles on their faces, their clothes and faces dirty. Things had gotten worse since his last holiday.

After leaving Sven and the sleigh at the stables, Al and Kris walked down the muddy paths down the hills to his house. Al, being employed by the goverment of Arendelle, obviously had a bit more to spare than others. Al opened the door and walked in. Kris politely wiped his feet on the mat even though it didn't help much, and stepped inside.

The air was warm, but it was more than that. It _felt _warm. Cozy. Happy, somehow.

A large fireplaced cracked and hissed on one side of the room, surrounded with couches. On the other side was a kitchen. In one corner was a small, steep wooden spiral staircase leading to the two bedrooms.

The wooden floors creaked beneath him as Al took off his coat and put it on a hanger, along with his hat and mittens. Kris followed his lead.

A women emerged from the kitchen, a broad smile on her face. She rushed over and kissed Al on the cheek, then looked behind at Kris. "Kristoff!" she exclaimed. "It's wonderful to see you again!" She embraced him.

"Good to see you, too." Kris said. "Missed you guys."

Mrs. Amelia was just a few years younger than Al. She had been a government worker as well but after the birth of her second child retired to the housewife life.

"Thank you again for letting me stay with you." Kris said.

She raised her hands. "Please. We're glad we could help." Kris couldn't hide a smile.

The sun was setting, turning the cloudy sky orange and pink, by the time Al and Kris had cleaned up. Kris shaved off the beard that had grown in the last couple weeks, and was now wearing comfortable sweat pants and a sweater. After the best dinner he had had for weeks, which was saying something, because it wasn't a very large meal, Al and Kris sat across from each other in front of the fire place while Amelia cleaned up from supper. Kris had tried to help, but she wouldn't hear of it. Al lit a pipe and stared thoughtfully into the fire place.

"So. How are things really?" Kris asked. He had been avoiding the topic, and after having such joyous conversation around the dinner table felt it very improper, but he had to know.

After a moment of silence, he answered. "It's gotten worse, Kris. The timing of it all was just terrible. There's not much food left, half the military is sick with the disease that's been spreading. Amelia and I have been trying to help wherever we can, giving away food and such, but we can only do so much. On top of all that, whatever troops are available, that bastard Hans keeps sending to go hunt for Elsa."

There it was. Everything seemed to come back to her. It hadn't even been a day after her coronation when things had fallen to pieces.

"I don't know what he's thinking." Kris said. It was stupid, but he didn't know what else to say.

Al snorted. "He's a bloody idiot." A moment later, "Actually, I take it back. He's probably a genius, but he's a damn mad man. Obessed with killing Elsa it seems." It seemed odd to be thinking of it at the time, but Kris couldn't help but wonder how Al survived in the mostly Catholic town with his dirty mouth.

"None of it makes sense."

"Damn right about that. This guy comes from the Southern Isles for the coronation, makes friends with the princess, then suddenly he's the bloody steward of Arendelle?"

"No, no, I mean _none _of it makes sense." He leaned over. "Do you all seriously still believe that Elsa has...you know, ice magic?"

"You'd have to be blind to be living here and not know that." Kris nodded silently. He hadn't been in the city during the Coranation. "I mean, the same night she leaves the whole place turns to ice? Plus, there were witnesses. Hans being one of them."

Kris sat back in the chair. A few minutes passed as Al stared into the fire silently. "What are you thinking about, old man?"

He seemed to come out of his trance. "Oh, nothing. Mind just goes in interesting places sometimes." He tried for a smile then stood up. "I better be off to bed. Good to see you again, Kris." They said goodnight, then Kris ascended the stairs to the guest bedroom.


	6. Chapter 5

**Woot woot! Two updates in a day! Let's see if we can get three this week ;)**

That week, Kristoff tried to get whatever information he could about the go-abouts of the city from the townsfolk. In the meantime, Al was continuing teaching at the school. In he evenings he was friendly, but more thoughtful than he had been the first night. Kris made a mental note of that. On his sixth day in town, a Friday, Al was especially quiet, he and his wife both. They didn't talk after dinner, just went silently to bed.

As Kris laid down in the bed in his room, there was a crunch underneath him. He wondered for a moment then stood up and searched the bed for the source of the sound. He found a small piece of paper on his bed. He brought it over to a small table, then lit the candle on it with a match. The letter read in handwritten words,

_Go to the tavern in a few hours._

_I will meet you there._

_-A_

As much as he hated himself for it, Kris knew would go. He hated that he had no idea what was going on, but knew his curiosity would get the best of him. He layed down and tried to get some sleep, but his mind was buzzing. Something _was _up, and this meeting must have something to do with it, he thought. This must be the explanation.

Later, he fell asleep. He wasn't sure of when he woke up, but it was still completely dark, so he guessed he couldn't be too far off. He roused himself, dressed, put on a coat and quietly, silently, walked to the front door and outside.

The air stung his face. He hugged his coat to his neck and kept walking, regretting not grabbing his hat. The town was silent, nothing but the sound of the occasional bird and the thump-crunch of his footsteps.

He arrived at the tavern, which was open well into the morning, shook his boots off and walked in. The air was warm and calm. No one was in the tavern except for the bartender, a scraggly young guy who slept soundly against the wall on a stool behind the counter. Kris stood in front of the counter for a moment, humored by the situation, then rang the bell on the counter. The man roused instantly and stood up. He turned in a circle then focused on Kris.

"Can I get you something?" he asked rather politely, considering he had just been woken up.

"Yeah, I'll have a pint of your best beer." The bartender rushed off. "By the way," Kris added, "did anyone come in here recently?"

"Like who?"

"Eh, maybe an older guy, gray hair-" He was stopped short by the sound of the door opening. A man walked inside. After removing his hood Kris saw clearly that it was Al.

Al's face widened in a smile. "Ah, Kris, you made it!" The bartender went slack for words as he looked at Al. "Have the others arrived?" Al asked.

The bartender shook his head. "Not yet, you're the first. I'll send them down there when they arrive."

"Others? What others?" Kristoff asked, confused. The bartender set the pint on the counter. Kris reached to take a sip and Al swatted his hand away.

"Not now, my friend. We'll need you as sober as we can get you. Follow me." Al walked down a dark hallway to his left. Kris reached over the counter and took a swig before following him.

Al led him to the back of the hallway, then opened a door, which led to a staircase. After descending in the dark, Al lit a match at the floor of the basement, then lit a lamp on a table on one side of the room. The basement was packed with supplies and barrels of ale.

"What exactly are we doing here?" Kristoff wondered aloud.

"You'll find out soon, don't worry." Al laughed, but his smile had faded. Things were about to get interesting.

A few minutes later, footsteps were heard on the stairs. Kristoff tensed, but Al looked completely calm. The man who entered was big and burly. A thick black beard covered his face.

"Al." he said in a gruff voice that matched his appearance perfectly.

"Isaac." Al greeted the man. "Please, take a seat." The man plopped down on a barrel of ale and stared at Kris. "This is my old friend, Kristoff." The man nodded, but didn't say anything.

A few minutes later, another man descended the stairs. He was thin, but muscular. He looked like a champion runner to Kris. His name was Amos.

Later another man descended, who had a sickly, pale look to him, but a wild fire in his eyes. Ralph.

Then there were the sounds of two descending; in front, a young woman who looked a bit younger than Kris. She had long, thin brown hair, blue eyes, and a strong body. Behind her came the bartender.

"And the last of our company," Al introduced, "Emma and Jed." Everyone exchanged nods.

"So now that we're all here," Isaac said quietly, "mind telling us what this is all about?"

Al exchanged looks with Emma and Ralph, then looked back to Isaac. "Well, needless to say, we're all a bit angry with the events of the last few months. I've asked you all here specifically based on your beliefs and abilities. Recently we-"

"Oh for God's sake, let's cut to it, shall we?" Isaac interrupted.

Al paused for a moment. "We all know what needs to be done." He paused, and Kris groaned inside. He was trying too hard. "We're going to overthrow the monarchy." Complete silence.

Kris had had enough. "Really?" he laughed, incredulous. "All seven of us? Don't you think we might be roughing it just a tad?"

Al's eyes were like flint. "I never said it would be easy, but if we don't do this now we won't get another chance." He looked around at everyone in the room. "I work for the government, I've seen the things he's been doing behind the scenes. He doesn't want Elsa imprisoned, he wants her dead. He's squandering our resources that we need to stay alive. And am I the only one that finds it odd that he was declared steward of Arendelle after just a couple days? Please. Something much bigger is going on."

"Sorry Al," Amos interrupted, "but I'm with Kris. How could just us alone do this?"

"We won't have to," Al said, "All we have to do is start the fire. The people may feign loyalty to Hans but as soon as the oppurtunity comes for a change, to make things better, they'll help."

"You're sure about that?" Isaac said. "People can be a bit unpredictable."

"We don't need all of them. Just enough dedicated people." Al countered.

Emma spoke for the first time. "There's no better time to strike than now. Hans has scattered his assets. If we strike right now, he'll be unprepared, for the most part. We won't be able to win with one attack, but we can get a lead in the game."

"Okay, okay," Kris interrupted, "say we do decide to go along with this. What do we need to do to suceed?"

"Get into the palace," Ralph said, his voice cracking, matching his sickly appearance, "take Hans as captive, and install a new leader, a new monarchy."

"You said we can't take the kingdom in one attack. You realize this will take his focus off of Elsa and onto us, right? Now he'll be willing to destroy Arendelle as long as he destroys us."

Al leaned forward. "That's kind of the idea. I think that if we take his attention off of her, as soon as she realizes that we're doing something for her kingdom, maybe she'd return."

Isaac burst out laughing this time. "That's a bit of a long-shot, don't you think?"

"But if she returns and fights for us, with her ice powers-"

"Yeah, yeah, we got that part." Kris said, shaking his head.

"Like Al said," Emma started again, "there's something bigger going on here than we think. If we don't stop this, who will?"

Silence enveloped the room again. She and Al had a point. Something was going on behind the scenes here. Things were just too odd. Elsa's ice powers, for one. There had to be an explanation for that. Then Anna, putting Hans, a complete stranger, in charge of Arendelle? It was wrong. Something was terribly wrong.

And Emma had a point. If he wasn't going to stop it, who would?

"I'm in." Everyone stared at him, incredulous. Emma's mouth hung open, Ralph nodded approvingly. Al smiled, like he had been expecting that the entire time.

"I still don't like-" Isaac started, but was interrupted when Ralph started hacking. When he had finished, he continued. "I still don't like it, but I guess after all we've been through already, it couldn't hurt."

"This is idiotic." Amos commented.

"Thank you, Mr. Positive." Emma said, rolling her eyes.

"I was going to say I love idiotic. Count me in."

All but Jed now. "I'm sorry," he stuttered, "but why do you want me on your team again?"

"We need a good set of ears." Al answered. "You bartenders get wind of almost everything. There's not much a drunk person won't say. Keep an ear out and report to me if you hear anything important, or just slightly interesting." Jed nodded, then saluted, like a soldier.

"So what's the plan?" Kris asked.

"That's what you guys are here for." Al answered.

All went quiet for a moment as everyone brainstormed. "I say," Emma finally said, "that we storm the castle, cause as much havoc as possible, and disable as many soldiers as we can. Then we retreat to the outside of the city and start taking it piece by piece."

"How exactly would that help us?" Isaac asked. "Besides cutting the legs off a couple soldiers here and there."

"To destroy their nerve." Ralph answered, then coughed before continuing. "I was thinking the same thing. Well, not really, but I wish I was."

"Most of these 'soldiers' aren't older than eighteen," Emma filled in. "It won't take much to scare them. The very fact that there are people considering rebellion should be enough." Everyone nodded.

"We'll meet again tomorrow night to finalize the plan," Al said, "but one last thing. Tell as many people as you can about this. Not just anybody, people you know well, people you know you can trust, people who share the same beliefs we do. As many people you know like this, tell them. We'll need as many as we can get."


	7. Chapter 6

**Well hullo again! Next chapter! Really enjoyed writing these next few so I hope you enjoy them as much as I did. :-)**

**Shout outs:**

**WinterKnight2104: I'm glad you are enjoying it! I don't think there's a greater compliment you could give a writer, other than that you are hooked to their story. :-)**

Elsa ran from the town and didn't look back.

Her shock turned to fear, and her fear to anger. She had seen a lot of death but didn't understand why some deaths hit her harder than others. She had fought so hard the last few days to keep her emotions in check, because her powers, more often than not, were triggered by her strongest emotions. But now she was all alone in the mountains. She couldn't hurt anyone here. So she let it all out.

A storm of white raged around her. She let all the stress and pressure within her release in a tornado of ice and snow. It whirled around her faster and faster. She kept running as it raged on. She let it go for hours. It felt so good to release it all that she dreaded having to try to put it all back inside of her. For a few minutes she entertained the idea of just leaving. Going as far north as possible and forgetting it all. But something kept her from doing so. Maybe it was the suspense of finding whoever was hunting her. Maybe it was that she still loved Arendelle. She wasn't sure.

But something was starting to eat away at her conscience. She didn't understand why one person killed by a mysterious hunter had affected her so badly. She had killed fifty soldiers a few nights ago and hadn't been hurt this bad.

And that was when it hit her. _Fifty._

The storm got stronger. Had she really killed that many? It didn't even seem possible. She searched her memory, hoping, desperately hoping that none of it had happened. But she knew it had. She had killed fifty soldiers who were just following the orders of a mad man. Fifty. Fifty. Fifty. It was all she could think through the haze of fear.

All her life she had protected society from her. Hiding in her bedroom for thirteen years, wishing to breathe in the fresh air, but never venturing out for fear of hurting people. This was what she had hid from. And in the end it was all for nothing, because she couldn't escape who she was. The storm grew in strength still.

The day wore on.

The storm slowly died, along with her thoughts. She just walked along, feeling numb to the rest of the world. Day faded into night. It was a few day's journey to Iris. She found herself wishing she had a horse.

She was still nervous about going there. Out of the five nations, Iris had the largest crime rate. It was an extremely dangerous and poor city. She worried about what kind of people she would run into there. After all, her reward poster had said dead or alive.

By the time night had fallen, her legs had grown weak, but she didn't stop. Couldn't stop.

Finally, as the moon was high in the sky, the stars sparkling around it like sapphires, she allowed herself to rest. She dropped knees first, then face first into the cold ice. It felt wonderful. What heat was to most cold was to her. It comforted her in that weird way that it always did. Slowly, she felt pulled into the arms of sleep.

She awoke a few hours later. It was still dark. In the distance, she heard what had woken her up. Wolves. A pack of them howled in the night. It wouldn't have bothered her, wouldn't have even woken her up, but there was a strangeness to it. A part of it that gave her a chill. It didn't sound quite like a wolf. Somehow, part of the tone sounded like a person. Sounded like a torchered scream, mixed with an animalistic cry. The cry turned to a low moan, like the dead rising out of the earth. Then it started again in full intensity. She shivered as her mind went into high gear. She stood up, put her pack on her shoulder, and ran like hell.

Not much could freak out a woman with ice magic, but whatever that was, it had been enough.

She had been running for half an hour before she realized the sound was getting closer. She ran faster. Ran until her chest were full of cramps and her breaths wheezed, but kept running still.

There was a mountain she had to get past before descending again to Iris. So uphill she ran, hoping, praying the top was near. She slowed to a jog for a moment, then heard the sounds again. They were closer than she had thought. Scary close.

She kept running for another ten minutes. Her legs felt like they had turned to rubber. Her heart felt like it was about to explode. Then she heard a sharp _BARK _right behind her, followed by a growl. She stopped completely and carefully, slowly, ever so slowly, turned around. Right behind her was the pack of wolves. Only she wasn't even sure if they were wolves. They were enormous. Several were as big as her thoroughbreds in Arendelle. Their eyes were all different shades of different colors, but glowed with fluorescent light. Elsa was hypnotised by them. In that moment she felt a terror she had never really ever felt before, despite all she'd been through.

Then it happened. One of them spoke. "Elsa." one of the wolves said. He was the largest of the group. His voice sounded like a growl, but there was still something definately human about it. "You must come with us." Elsa stood, silently. A low growl came from his throat. "If you come with us, we will not harm you." Elsa slowly felt herself begin to snap out of her daze. Part of her was wanting to go with them, but she knew she couldn't.

So she took a step forward, and without warning, let loose a blizzard of ice.

And she ran.

The growls and cries of the wolves could be heard from below as the force of the blast had knocked them off their feet. They recovered quickly though, and pursued. Elsa's heart felt like a hammer in her chest, the fear alive in her like a wild animal. She turned around and fired another icy blast, and kept running. Her strength was wearing thin, but she didn't stop.

She knew she couldn't outrun them, and that she couldn't hold them back forever. That any minute now they would-

And suddenly she had reached the top. She had reached the top of the mountain. The elation rushed through her for a moment, until she heard the angry snarls that woke her up. She looked down. The slope was very steep, the path riddled with trees and rocks. She bit her lip as she considered her options. Then it came to her. An idea she had only tried once, when she was seven years old, but might just work.

She extended her hands and shot hard ice onto the ground. She willed it to harden, then to mold into a clean, smooth surface. She rounded the edges neatly then jumped on. She had created a small oval sled, just big enough for her feet, out of ice. She turned around and saw the wolves as they reached the crest of the mountain, and their surprised expressions as, with a blast of ice, she went over the edge.

She hadn't anticipated the speed with which she would be travelling at. She tried desperately to keep her balance, almost falling over on several occasions. She put her right foot in front of her left on the sled, facing forward, then extended her arms to her left and right. She willed soft, powder like snow to explode from her hands, spraying the ground, acting as poles to balance her as she slid down the mountain face.

She heard the sound of her pursuers, gaining ground, but she was confident now that she could outdo them. And oddly enough, a smile formed on her face.

She steered with her hands around a tree, a rock, more trees, more rocks, but she should have known her luck would run out. She tried to dodge a rock but the edge of the sled caught on it and threw her off balance. She fought to regain it, but couldn't fight gravity. She closed her eyes for the impact as she fell and rolled. Pain erupted in her side, but she knew she couldn't wait. The wolves, if you could even call them that, were getting closer. She started running once again.

Then she looked up, feeling incredibly stupid. This entire mountain, she thought, is made of ice and snow. If she could only be strong enough...

She summoned a massive amount of strength, strength she didn't even know she was capable of. She allowed it to build, to expand, to explode inside of her. It filled her whole body with a tingling sensation that was both scary and beautiful.

It wasn't long though before she realized something was wrong. She could feel the energy begin to do something to her. It felt like it was eating away at her mind. She knew she had to stop or something bad would happen, but was afraid of it not being enough. Then she saw the wolves. They were dangerously close to her now. She had no choice.

And she released it.

A moment of silence. At first she couldn't see that she had done anything, but after a moment, the earth began to shake violently, unlike any earthquake she had ever experienced before. The wolves appeared shocked as well. They stopped in their tracks and looked around in a panic.

Still the shaking continued. Elsa fought to maintain her balance. For several minutes there was nothing but shaking. The wolves were in full panic now, all except the large one, the leader of the pack. Elsa saw him appear behind a rock. He locked eyes with her and, with a hideous snarl, charged.

Then it began. A deep, distant rumbling, unlike that of the earth shaking. Elsa looked up. The snow at the top of the mountain began to crumble and fall in enormous heaps. A mixture of rock and snow tumbled down the hill at a terrifying speed.

Elsa had nearly forgot about the pack leader, and at the last moment, shot a blast of ice at him. He cowered, but only for a moment, then charged again. Her strength was failing her. The amount of energy it had taken to start the avalanche had eaten away at her energy. She shot another blast, weaker this time. She summoned her sword of ice and slashed at the wolf on his next attack. The blade connected at his side and he let out a yelp as he fell, but didn't stay down long. His skin almost looked like it was...

She didn't have any strength left the next time he attacked. He slashed at her middle with his claws and she fell. She screamed in pain as blood rushed to the wound. He would have killed her right there, if it weren't for the avalanche, that was now right on top of him. Elsa opened her eyes long enough to see it just a small distance away. With the last bit of her energy, she fought to create a magic shield for herself, to protect her from the ice and rock. The avalanche swept up the pack, then the leader, then Elsa.


	8. Chapter 7

**Never don't not give up. **

**Well guys this week is going to be super dooper packed with Christmasy stuff so I hope you guys will forgive me if I forget to update as often this week. That being said, I will do the best I can. :-)**

All she saw at first was darkness.

She wasn't sure what had happened. She wasn't sure where she was, or why her body hurt so badly. Then it all came rushing back to her like that blasted avalanche.

She opened her eyes, but that didn't help. It was all still dark. She couldn't even see her hand in front of her face. She reached out for something, anything. Her hand connected with something cold and familiar. Snow. She felt a rush of comfort, before realizing that it didn't make any sense. She reached up and felt more snow. She was buried in snow. How was that even possible?

She started to feel claustrophobic. The nervous energy spilled out of her and the ice and snow packed above her exploded skyward. Light flooded in her eyesight and she closed her eyes, blinded. After a moment she forced them open again, then squinted up. She was buried in more than ten feet of snow. She stood gingerly. Her body ached like hell, and when she tried to walk, she had a limp. She tried to climb out, but the pain was too much. Then had another idea. She created the image of her mind, then released the energy. A staircase molded itself out of the snow and she limped up and out.

It wasn't until then that she realized what had happened. Somehow, in the last moment of her strength, she created an invisible shield that had protected her from the avalanche. But if she had been protected from the avalanche, why did it hurt so much?

Then she remembered the wolves. Their size. How they spoke. The front of her jacket and shirt underneath were ripped and tattered. She braced herself and lifted the front of her jacket and shirt just above her stomach to examine the wound. She inhaled a breath through her teeth. It looked just as bad as it felt. Red slash marks, dried blood and oozing pus. It was a hideous sight. It reached up past her stomach and onto her chest. The infection was terrifying. She limped about, the wound burning with each step as fresh blood rushed to the spot.

Her only chance, she realized now, was to get to Iris. As much as she dreaded it, as dangerous as it was, the infection was too bad. It would kill her if she didn't get help. She could hardly move, and each step sent new waves of agony through her, but she had no choice.

She limped along. She stopped after a while and ate a small breakfast, then kept going. She realized then that she had lost the arrow on her way down the mountain, but wasn't worried, considering how close she was to it's origin.

The pain and exhaustion of the last few days would have been enough to stop her. It was unbearable. Miserable. She asked herself many times why she kept going, then reminded herself that the answers lied in Iris. That somehow, she would make it. Then she would get answers.

She was convinced now that the Gravedigger wasn't the one hunting her, and that the strangers who had been trying to protect her in the towns were working for him. She wasn't sure, but she was convinced it was the truth. She was supposed to find him. Maybe he could help her. Or maybe she was wrong and she was walking into a trap.

She reached the foot of the mountain and, in the afternoon sun, saw Iris far ahead. A small seed of hope blossomed inside of her. She still wasn't sure how she would make it past the soldiers at the gates, but it didn't really matter, because she was almost there.

She found an old road where the snow had been packed down by foot traffic and carts. As she got closer people began to pass by. She hid herself under her cloak and kept her head down. The few people she saw, though, she didn't like. They looked sick, like they hadn't eaten in weeks, and she saw desperation in their eyes, the kind of desperation she knew she would find here. The willingness to do literally anything for their next meal.

It got worse as she got closer. More people showed up, all with that same look of desperation on their faces. Beggars stood on the side of the road, asking for money. Almost everyone looked at the ground, not making eye contact with anyone.

In the distance, she saw someone coming her way. She tried to ignore it, but he was getting closer. Coming right for her. "Jane!" He exclaimed when he was close enough. Elsa stopped and looked behind her, curious as to who he was talking to. But when she looked back he was looking right at her. "Wonderful to see you again! What are you doing here?" He extended a hand.

She looked at him. She didn't recognize him or shake his hand. She didn't like physical contact much. Too easy to hurt people when you're touching them. He raised his eyebrow at her and she had a thought.

"It has been a while!" She played along. "I was just passing through."

"Are you unwell?"

"I-" she started, wincing from the pain. "I'm well enough." She smiled.

"Come, come." he said, motioning with a hand towards the city gate. She had been right. He was going to help her get in.

The kingdom of Iris sat with it's castle to the back of one of the largest mountains in the region, Gerard. It stood there like a giant, with it's summit stretching into the sky. The locals believed that the mountain was cursed, and that those who climbed it were doomed to death.

Clouds covered Elsa and the stranger, hiding the sun, as they approached the gate. The wind got colder. The gates were tall but not as strong as those in Arendelle. If anyone wanted to attack the city they would have no problem getting in. The gates stood open with four soldiers guarding, two on either side. When they approached, one of them stopped them. Elsa crossed her arms to hide the rips in her clothes as well as she could.

"Names?" the guard asked quietly.

"Fredrick of Iris, occupation store owner, and Jane of Norway, a traveller." The stranger answered.

The guard took a look at Elsa, trying to see under the dark hood. He didn't seem convinced. "Traveller, eh? I'm afraid I'll have to ask you two a couple of questions, just to be sure." It was over. They were going to get caught.

In her peripheral vision, she saw another man jogging over. "Jane? Is that really you?" His face broadened in a smile as he shook her hand. Another one?

The guard tapped the new man's shoulder. "You know this woman?"

The new man shrugged. "Not as well as I would like." He answered, winking at her. "Freddie and I met her a few years ago on one of her travels through here." The guard considered silently. "No worries here, old friend," the new man said, slapping the guard on the shoulder.

"Alright then. Off with ya." the guard finally answered. Elsa nodded to the new man, trying to express her thanks, and walked into the city with Fredrick.

She took a deep breath once they were inside. "Thank you," she said. When no answer came she looked behind her. No one was there. She looked in a full circle, but there was no one. She exhaled. This was getting idiotic.

Not knowing her way around the town, she figured if she was going to find out anything, the tavern was probably a good place to start. After asking directions from a local she started walking there. Surprisingly, there were more people outside the town than there were on the inside. It was almost like a ghost town there were so few people, and those that milled about in the streets looked like homeless people, with tattered clothes and starving eyes.

She turned a corner and on both sides of the street were rows of homeless people. There was something off about them though. They had a mad look in their eyes. They stared at her as she passed. It gave Elsa an uncomfortable feeling. She sped down the street as fast as she could with her limp.

The windows to the homes were boarded up, the doors locked securely. Elsa had always heard the tales of the Kingdom known for it's crime rate, but she didn't expect it would be this bad. The few citizens who walked around carried swords at their sides. Elsa observed one woman throw a few half-eaten pieces of bread to a row of homeless people. Every homeless man and woman jumped for the scraps, fighting one another for them, punching, kicking, biting their competitors. When the strongest escaped with the bread, they left their victims bleeding on the street, many of whom looked to be dead. Elsa shivered, thoroughly disturbed, and limped faster.

The city seemed to change as she neared the tavern. The homes got nicer and there were fewer homeless people. She arrived at the tavern and stepped inside. There was a crowd of people, which put Elsa on edge. She fought back the nervous energy that wanted to explode from within her. Despite the large crowd there was hardly any noise.

She walked up to the counter, and asked the bartender for a small drink. Maybe it would make her less suspicious, she thought.

"You're not from around here, are ya?" he asked casually.

She shook her head. "Just passing through on my way to Norway."

He handed her the drink and she took a sip. "I was wondering if you could tell me," she said, trying to sound casual, "in my journeys I found a rather large black arrow. I lost it on my way down the mountain. When I inquired about it they told me the workmanship was that of Iris. Any idea what craftsman makes these exquisite arrows?"

He eyed her carefully. "What size was this arrow?"

She gestured with her arms. A look of terror crossed his face for a moment, then he hid it. "Sorry, can't help you."

"Very well. One last thing, though. I'm looking for one called The Gravedigger." She knew it was going to be the end of her before she even asked it. What little conversation was going on in the bar stopped abruptly. You could have heard a pin drop.

The bartender's face went slack. "One second please." he said and moved into a back room. Elsa felt an odd sensation and knew what was going to happen next. She felt her powers channel through her unease. Frost collected on the ceiling. She whipped around and released her energy.

It did something odd, something she didn't expect. Three people were right behind her, knives in hand, preparing to stab her. They were thrown back by an invisible force into the wall of the tavern where they landed with a thump. They didn't slide to the ground then, though. Ice shackles wrapped around their ankles and wrists, gluing them to the wall. All the other men in the tavern stood up. In a massive release of energy, she pinned every single one to the wall at once. The bartender hadn't reappeared. Ice continued to gather on the ceiling and walls.

"I could kill you right now," she said calmly, looking them in the eye, "and there would be nothing you could do about it." She snapped her fingers for effect and the shackles melted, and everyone dropped to the ground at once. "But I'm not going to do that. Which is why I trust we won't have issues later. Now," she said folding her hands, "could any of you fine gentlemen tell me where The Gravedigger lives?"

"No one knows," one of them answered after a moment. "He's the greatest criminal in all of Iris. They say that those who seek him out seek out death itself, or the death of others. And that he will find those who seek him."

She examined his face to be sure he was being honest. He looked sincere enough. "I can assure you I seek neither of those things. Thank you for your help." And with that, she exited the tavern.

Elsa was frustrated out of her mind. Her entire body ached with both raw pain and exhaustion, and she still couldn't find this Gravedigger man. She had come all this way and now couldn't get any of the information she needed.

She heard a whisper and whipped her head in the direction it had come from. Standing on the other end of the outside the tavern was a man dressed in a dark cloak. "Elsa," he whispered, then gestured for her to follow him. Before she could say anything he took off down the street. Elsa shook her head at the whole situation and followed.

She finally caught up to him as they turned into a dark alley. "Is all this really necessary?" she asked him.

He nodded. "We needed to make sure you seemed inconspicuous to peasants and guards before we took you to his home."

She laughed sarcastically. "So much for that."

"It's fine, because we can still get you there without being noticed."

He turned another corner and ran up to the front door of a two story house, not far from the castle. The stranger knocked on the door. A moment later it opened. A man stood in the doorway, and smiled when he saw them. "Welcome, Elsa." he whispered.


	9. Chapter 8

**Well here we are! One of my favorite chapters thus far. Finally we meet the mysterious Gravedigger! This chapter was a ton of fun to write. Sorry in advance for the cliffhanger though. Hehehe. As always, reviews, thoughts and advice are much appreciated. :-) ~E-Sharp**

**Shout outs:**

**WinterKnight2104: No problem! I like giving shout outs to my reviewers. And thank you again! I do love my cliffhangers. :-D**

"Come in, come in." The man said politely, stepping aside. The stranger walked in first and Elsa followed. "George, you're dismissed." The dark cloaked stranger bowed to the man who'd open the door and hurried up a staircase. "Please, have a seat." the man gestured to a chair.

"I'd rather stand, thank you."

A look of concern washed over his face. "Elsa, I can see that you're injured. Please, I pray, take a seat."

He was right. Elsa desperately needed to rest. She casually sat in the chair, trying not to show her relief. A high pitched whistle sounded from another room. "Excuse me," he said, and rushed off.

The man was tall, had curly blonde hair, wore gray slacks and a vest over a white t-shirt. His eyes were crystal blue, and he didn't look much older than she was. The house was smaller than it looked outside, filled with furniture and other peculiar objects.

He returned with a plate with two large cups and two smaller cups. "Cream and sugar?" he asked.

Elsa wanted to refuse, but it just sounded too good to be true. "Just cream, please."

He nodded, pouring cream in both large cups, already full of tea, then put two cubes of sugar in one. He placed the tray on a table in front of her and sat in the chair on the other side. "So you're the Gravedigger?" Elsa asked as she picked up her cup.

"Not exactly what you expected, was it?" he smiled.

"No, I must say, a dark cloak and sycth seemed a bit closer to my imagination." He laughed and took a sip of his tea. "You may call me by my real name though. Jonathan."

Elsa was silent for a moment. "Do you?" she asked.

"Do I what, M'Lady?"

"Dig people's graves?"

He shrugged. "Sometimes." He took another sip. "You know how people are. One assassination and suddenly you're death's second in command."

"Isn't that the truth." She murmured, then took a sip of her tea.

"I've heard a lot of interesting things about you, as well." he said.

"Is that so? Things like what?"

"You have ice magic." he said.

"True." she answered.

"You put all of the country in this winter?"

She hesitated. "True."

"You killed your parents for the throne?"

Elsa choked on her tea. After a coughing spasm she said, "Pardon me?"

"Well, that's not as popular, but I have heard it."

She swallowed. "Not true. How about you?" she asked after a moment. "I heard you were the worst criminal in Iris."

"Not true. Although I do make a habit of stopping criminals."

"And commit more crimes in the process, I take it then."

"Well I have assasinated a king or two." he took another sip. "Well, here we are at last. You know, I've been wanting to meet you."

"Really?" she said sarcastically. "I wasn't sure."

He squinted. "That was sarcasm, wasn't it?"

"If you wanted to meet me you could have just sent a letter or something. No need to have your servants killed-"

"They weren't my servants." he said sharply, the smile suddenly gone. "They were people who pledged themselves to me, who were willing to do anything I asked them, even if it meant their death. They were my friends." He leaned forward. "They wanted to find you. To try and protect you. They thought you could help us."

She took that in for a moment. "Well, I suppose I should get down to business." he said, regaining his former composure. "You no doubt came here for a few answers. Well, you're gonna get them. You and I have something in common. We are what the majority of common people call sorcerers. Now sorcerers have nothing to do with magic, it's all in the blood and mind. Those who are born sorcerers have the ability to curse others, to give others powers like them. You and I were both cursed. People who are cursed with sorcerer abilities have very specific powers. People who are born sorcerers have powers on a much...broader scale."

He paused, took a breath, and continued. "You and I were both cursed, but there was something different about yours. Yours was more powerful, more vivid."

Elsa's mind was spinning. So she hadn't been born with her powers, like she was always told? "Well, if what you're saying is true," she started, "which I haven't decided yet, maybe whoever cursed me was just more powerful than whoever cursed you."

Silence. He just stared at her. An odd thought entered her head.

"You know who it is, don't you?" she asked.

"I have a suspicion," he answered, "and if I'm right, you and I were both cursed by the same person. As I was saying, yours was different. And now The Hunter is after you-"

"You know who the hunter is?" she asked, surprised.

"Everyone does. He's a mysterious giant who lives in the mountains. The locals call him Gerard. They believe that he is the physical form of the spirit of the mountain. Not many people see him, but everyone knows of him. Anyway, strange reports have been coming out of Arendelle recently, as well. Putting all those things together I'm seeing a much bigger picture behind the scenes forming." He leaned forward. "Speaking of Arendelle...do you have any idea why Anna made Hans the steward?"

Elsa shook her head. "It doesn't make sense to me. Doesn't seem like something she'd do."

He nodded solemnly. "Very well. The point is that we have to figure out exactly what's going on here. I think it's far bigger than we ever could have-"

"_We?"_ Elsa asked. "I can take care of myself, thank you. And why does what happens in Arendelle matter to you?"

He took a deep breath, avoiding eye contact with her. "Because," he finally said, "I fear that when he, this master sorcerer, is finished with Arendelle, he will begin to destroy the other kingdoms as well. Do you realize how crazy your curse is? The amount of power you possess? It takes an extremely powerful sorcerer to curse someone like he has you, and if he isn't stopped, he has nothing to lose and the world to gain. Elsa, I'm sure you can take care of yourself, but I know for certain that you've never faced anyone like this before. If we work together, I think we have a chance at saving not just Arendelle, but all of the kingdoms."

Elsa was silent for a moment. Deep inside she was desperate to know how and why she had been cursed. Arendelle was falling apart, and if he was right, soon all the kingdoms could be in danger.

"Tell me more," she said.

"I need to know that you're in. That we're going to help each other take him down."

"Why do you want to do this?" she asked.

He was silent for a moment. "Because there are too many people I care about in this world. Too many I've lost. I can't allow them to be hurt. I can't allow the ones I've lost to not be avenged. I think you know exactly what I'm talking about, don't you?"

She knew exactly what he was talking about. For years the guilt and fear of hurting people because of her powers had haunted her, but now, for the first time, she realized that it wasn't her fault. That she wasn't to blame. That someone else had caused all this destruction and attepted to put it on her back. She had a chance to avenge those who had been hurt, or even killed, because of her. And even after all they had done to her, she still loved the people of Arendelle and wanted to protect them at all costs.

"Okay," she exhaled, "I'm in. Now talk."

He grinned like an idiot and stood up. "Follow me." Elsa stood as he walked into a hallway and followed.

They walked into what looked like the kitchen. With several sweeps of his arms he knocked off all the dishes and food on the table, sending it to the floor where food splattered and glass shattered. He dampened a towel in the sink and wiped the table down.

"What are you-" Elsa started.

"Get on the table." he said, and walked into another room.

"You said you were going-"

"You look like hell!" he called almost happily from the other room.

Elsa raised her arms, exasperated, and planted her feet. He returned with a bag and an irritated look on his face.

"I said to get on the table." he said.

"What if I don't want to get on the table?" she argued.

He rolled his eyes. "I see how this is going to be. Get on the damn table this instant, young lady!"

It would have been funny if he hadn't said it with such a serious look on his face. She rolled her eyes and climbed on, stretching out on her back. He walked over to a counter and looked through his bag.

"Talk while you work," she ordered.

"There's an old legend among us sorcerers called The Curse of the Master. No one really knows what it is, but everyone knows of it and speculates about it. It's been around since the Roman Empire."

He returned a moment later and leaned over the table. "Where's the wound?" he asked. She gestured to her abdomen. He started to pull up her shirt and she tensed. "Don't worry, I'm a doctor." he said, which did little to comfort her. He pulled it up just above her stomach. The fresh air made the wound sting.

"Bloody hell." he mumbled to himself.

"Thanks for the encouraging words," Elsa grumbled.

"When did this happen?" he asked, worry now present on his face.

"This morning...I think. What day is today?"

"Saturday," he replied, still looking pale.

"Yes, this morning."

"Did they bite you?"

"No, they-wait, how did you know-" she stuttered.

"Answer me, did they bite you?" he enunciated every word carefully.

"No." She answered.

His face relaxed as he exhaled. "The disease is obvious by the discoloration of the wounded area and blood veins close," he said after a moment of relief. "Werewolf poison. You got lucky. Scratch means slow and painful death. Bite means you will turn into a werewolf yourself."

"Sorry, but how is 'slow and painful death' lucky?" Elsa said, starting to worry herself.

"There's a cure that, if applied within 24 hours of the wound, can heal it."

"Just 24 hours? I thought you said it was a slow death?" she asked, confused.

"I said 24 hours to get the cure. If you don't get the cure you die a few weeks later."

"Oh." Was all she had to say to that. "You do have the cure, right?"

Before he could answer there was a sharp knock at the door. His face went pale. "Um...I'll be back." Elsa's heartbeat quickened. He turned a corner. She couldn't see him, but could hear him perfectly.

He opened the door. "Good afternoon, gentlemen! What can I do for you?"

"Sorry to interrupt Jonathan. We've gotten reports of a notorious criminal being seen within the city. Have you seen anything of interest?"

"No, but I'll keep an eye out." he said quickly.

"Oh, well you won't mind if we search the house, would you?"

"Not at all. Come in, I'll make some tea."

Elsa panicked. She sat up and slid off the table. She needed a hiding spot. Her eyes found a cabinet in the kitchen. She dashed for it and opened it up. Just a few pots and pans. She squeezed in as best she could and closed the door, wincing again with the pain the position brought with the wound. .

Darkness. Even her breaths sounded loud. It was unnerving. She heard the sound of footsteps. Quite a few. "Search the place up and down. Report anything you find. Anything at all suspicious." she heard the first man order. The sound of footsteps bounding off to search. Two people came into the kitchen.

"May I inquire who this criminal is?" Jonathan asked.

"What criminal has had her face all over the city for the past month?" the commander asked.

Jonathan laughed. "No way. She came here?"

"We're not certain, but it's possible. We're running a full sweep of the city just to be sure."  
>"Understandable." There was the sound of squeaky hinges, then wood against wood. He was checking the cabinets.<p>

Elsa prepared her ice sword, and waited. Another cabinet. Two more. Getting closer...

Her cabinet opened and light flooded in. As much as it hurt, she pounced on him, stabbing him in the chest with one hand and holding a hand over his mouth with another. It didn't take long for him to die.

Jonathan looked at her. "Nice work." he said. "Nice sword too. Guess we only have one choice now." He motioned for her to follow him.

They walked to the doorway of another room. A soldier appeared and Elsa stabbed him, while Jonathan kept his mouth shut. Then two came at once, one from the stairs, one from the living room. Elsa stabbed one, not caring who heard this time. Right behind her was a loud _CRACK. _She turned around. The other soldier was on the ground. Elsa tried not to gag. He lay on the floor, parts of his body severely burned. He wasn't breathing.

Elsa looked at Jonathan in shock. He shrugged. "Medical science isn't all I'm good at, you know." She just stared at him. "There isn't much time now, grab your coat." And he dashed into another room.

By the time Elsa had her coat and pack on, he returned with his and his medical bag. "Let's go," he said, opening the door. Elsa walked outside, Jonathan right behind her.

"Hood up, head down." he instructed. "If someone recognizes you now it's game over." She nodded and did as she was told. "Okay take a right here." she turned right with him down a narrow alley. "Okay, right again." They were back on another street. "Now left. You can lift your head up now."

When she did she saw that they were in a large stable. Rows and rows of horses stood to the left and right of the hallway that stretched between them. Jonathan walked down to one on the far right and opened it up. The horse gingerly walked out. Jonathan hugged her neck and whispered something in her ear. "Elsa, this is Jonathan Jr." he introduced.

"Seriously?" Elsa asked. "You named your horse Johnathan Jr."

"Pfft, of course I didn't. This is Lenora. Lenora, this is Elsa."

After getting the saddle and bridle ready, Johnathan tried to help her into the saddle, which she declined. As much as it hurt she lifted herself up, put her leg over the horse's back, and sat down.. Jonathan jumped up behind her and grabbed the reins. "Let's go," he said, patting the horse on the belly. Lenora started in a slow trot out of the stable and back onto the street.

As soon as they were out Lenora started at a slightly faster pace. Jonathan steered the horse to turn a corner where a group of soldiers stood waiting for them. Jonathan brought the horse to a halt in surprise. There must have been about forty of them, at least ten of them on horses. They all stopped whatever it was they had been doing and stared.

"Whoops," Jonathan said awkwardly, "wrong turn." He wheeled the horse around and sped off in the opposite direction. The sounds of their pursuers filled the air after a moment. They had been discovered.

"What now?" Elsa yelled over the noise. She was starting to feel sick.

"Now, we run!"

"No way!" she yelled in irritation, "I thought we were going to turn ourselves in!" And so they kept going.

There pursuers were fast, but Lenora seemed able to hold her own, even while carrying the weight of two people. As they rode along Elsa felt that they were getting closer to the outside of the city. The houses became poorer and the streets dirtier. Another group of mounted soldiers came out of an intersection ahead of them. Jonathan steered Lenora right on the next crossroads, into a small alley that opened up into another street. Another group of soldiers came out of an intersection, but there was something different about these. They wore different clothing. Jonathan steered Lenora down another side street to avoid them, but now they had a massive following.

"Elsa!" Jonathan yelled. "I need you to do something for me!"

"What?!" she yelled in return.

"Make a snowstorm!"

"Make a...snowstorm." she repeated. "I don't know how to do that! I don't even know if I can do that!"

"You froze the entire country, didn't you?"

"But that was on accident!" she complained.

"Just try. If you can't, fine, but I need you to try. Please."

Even the avalanche seemed like a small thing now. At least that had been on the ground. She didn't know if her powers worked in the sky or not. She reached within herself for as much energy as she could get her hands on and worked it into her mind, envisioning dark clouds, strong winds, and snow. Lots of snow. She couldn't get enough energy, though. She kept feeling that it wasn't enough to make it happen. She closed her eyes and reached deep within, trying to find what she was looking for, channeling every emotion she could find into her power. She reached that point again where it felt like something was terribly wrong, but she rebelliously went past it. Finally, when she was convinced she had enough, she released it.

Again, nothing visible happened at first, but as they dodged people, trash, buildings and soldiers, the clouds began to come together. Fast. They turned dark, blocking out the sun completely. The wind picked up considerably, whipping their clothes back and forth. Snow started to fall gently.

Jonathan laughed. "Knew you could do it!" he shouted above the wind.

Thunder rolled and lightning flashed. In that moment she knew exactly what Jonathan was doing.

"Cover your ears!" he yelled.

She put her ears to her head just in time. An exploding _CRACK _exploded behind them. Her ears hurt even though they were covered. "Gah!" she screamed, but couldn't hear herself. She risked a look behind her. The air hummed with electricity. Behind them was the large group of soldiers, all scattered on the ground, most unconscious and injured, the others deaf and dazed, a crater in the street showing where the bolt of electricity had hit.

As they rode on her hearing slowly came back. The constant gallop of the horse gained volume. "Pretty awesome, eh?" Jonathan gloated. Elsa said nothing. Their victory didn't last too long though. A small group of soldiers-three-came up from behind them. From up ahead, three more came towards them. Jonathan yanked on the reins to try to turn right but soldiers came in that direction as well. And from the left. They were surrounded in the intersection. At that moment, she noticed. All of these were the soldiers in the different colored clothing.

Arendelle soldiers.

One of the ones to the right raised his voice. "Surrender now!" he ordered. Elsa had had enough. She let loose a blast of ice. But the strangest thing happened. Before it hit the soldiers, it evaporated in mid air. The air got warmer.

She looked around. A red circle had been drawn around them. No, it wasn't just red. It was made of flames. She fired ice daggers, but as soon as she did the fire reached up like it had arms, wanting to catch them, and they evaporated. Elsa's powers were completely useless.

The one thing they hadn't counted on was Jonathan's magic. He extended his hands to his left and right, and bolts of white electricity shot out from his fingertips. They reached the soldiers and many fell off their horses, stunned. A few tried to exercise more of whatever fire magic they were using, but were too late. A moment later they were all unconscious, and the ring of fire around them vanished, leaving black marks in the cobblestone. Jonathan whipped his horse with the reins and they sped off again.

"What was that?" Elsa wondered out loud. Jonathan didn't answer.

The gates were getting closer. Elsa could see the top of the wall over the smaller buildings. Finally, they turned a corner, and the gate was right ahead of them up the stretch of road. Just one problem. It was closed.

_Of course it would be closed. _Elsa thought, admiring their amazing streak of luck. Jonathan didn't show any signs of stopping. "Jonathan...?" she said cautiously, but he still didn't stop.

There was a crackle in the sky. "Cover your ears!" he yelled again, but she already had.

_BOOM. _Elsa's hearing went off again. A white streak of lightning hit the gates and they exploded, going up in flames. Through the fire Elsa can see a huge hole in the old wood.

Despite Lenora's protestations, Jonathan drove them right through the fire. At the last moment Elsa released a blast of energy and put out the fire close to them. They passed outside of the city completely unharmed.

Lenora didn't slow down. She kept up her fast pace. A few minutes later a group of soldiers came running outside after them on horses, but Elsa wasn't worried. There was no way they'd be able to keep up with them after they got to the mountains.

They rode on until night fall. The soldiers had long since given up on following them. Elsa had never ridden a horse with so much stamina.

Elsa's body ached with pain like she'd never experienced before. Her head heated up like an oven with fever. Her abdomen felt like some large beast was eating away at it. Her eyes drooped. Each gallop of the horse sent a new wave of pain through her body.

"Elsa," Jonathan said from behind her. He must have noticed her slipping. "Elsa, listen to me. I'm going to get you the cure, alright? You just need to hang in there for a little while longer. I promise you, Elsa. Just hang in with me for a little while longer." Elsa didn't have the strength to respond. Instead, her body finally shut down and drifted off into oblivion.

It was the most uncomfortable sleep she had ever experienced. She had hoped that maybe sleep would relieve her of some of the pain, but it didn't. It didn't at all. She couldn't hear, couldn't see, but she could feel. Feel the up and down of Lenora, feel the burning on her chest, feel the throbbing of her head.

Somewhere along the line she sensed that they had stopped. She came back into consciousness for a moment. She felt warms arms under her legs and neck lifting her off of the horse. She screamed from the pain. So much pain. She felt her power leak out of her but didn't have the strength to wonder what it did.

There was some thumping, then a squeak. She opened her eyes just wide enough to see a small cabin. "Please," she heard Jonathan say, "she's dying. Please help us." And then she drifted back into the darkness.

The next time she woke up she was on a wooden surface, stretched out on her back like she had been in Jonathan's cabin. She opened her eyes just barely, and saw what she thought was a wooden roof.

"That's her, isn't it?" she heard an unfamiliar voice say. Silence. "Don't worry," the unfamiliar voice said, "you're secret is safe with us."

"Thank you," she heard what sounded like Jonathan say. It was hard to tell. It hadn't registered until then that she wasn't wearing anything but her thin undergarment on top. It would have embarrassed her if she hadn't been literally hours away from death. Death seemed to make smaller things like modesty less important.

Next Jonathan was right above her, a wet towel in one hand and wet herbs in another. He hesitated, then looked her in the eyes. "This is gonna hurt." he warned. Then he placed the herbs on her skin. She screamed again, then everything faded.


	10. Chapter 9

**Hello again! Ready to find out what happened to Elsa...? **

**But before we get back to there I think we should check up on our buddies in Arendelle. Sorry guys! I know it's a short chapter today, too, but stay tuned! Got a nice long one coming up for ya'll. :-)**

**Thank you all for the reviews and encouraging words! Let me do a few shout outs and then we'll get started. **

**Shout outs:**

**Guest7602: Lol! Keeping you all on your toes! ;-) Thanks for reviewing!**

**BeyondTheClouds777: Why would I do that? Because...I can. Hehehe. :-)**

**skyfireflight16: Haha! I'm glad you are enjoying it! Thanks for reviewing!**

**Jesusfreak: Well, ouchie-boo-boo isn't **_**exactly **_**how I'd label that one, but okay! Haha! Thanks for reviewing! Love the username btw :-)**

**WinterKnight2104: ...and the plot thickens, huh? Yeah I think Frankenstein is what you're thinking of there. I must say that'd be an interesting plot twist, wouldn't it? :P Thanks for reviewing!**

Kris admired the castle. Tall, elegant, absolutely beautiful. The most beautiful in all the kingdoms.

Kris couldn't help but wonder if they was doing the right thing. Would a rebellion save or sacrifice more people? It was impossible to say. His mind told him it was the right and logical thing to do, but his gut told him otherwise. It was starting to become different to tell the two apart.

He looked around. Since the Queen had gone ice crazy the gates of Arendele had been opened, but they sure didn't feel open. They felt cold, first of all. Not a temperature cold, something much deeper. It felt dark, despite the many lamps that were lit around the courtyard. It felt dead, despite the people that milled about. It felt so wrong.

Kris began to make calculations. If they were planning on striking this week, he took it upon himself to start gathering data.

While the castle guard was certainly weaker than usual, it certainly wasn't defenseless. Kris made mental notes. Out of a cursory inspection he guessed perhaps seventy soldiers patrolled the guard. He guessed a little more than half of them weren't experienced and were just townsfolk or youngins who were called into service. Not extremely strong in the defense area, granted, but there was strength in numbers, something Al didn't have.

The patrol and guard was well organized. Four guards guarded the entrance to the castle, and four to the entrance of the courtyard, two on either side. There were about ten more patrolling on the inside, and ten on the outside. Twenty-eight. The guard switched every four hours. Fifty-six. Then there were the ones patrolling the city, which weren't many. Maybe fifteen. It seemed like a rather large number of soldiers to guard the castle, for a mad man obsessed with killing his rival.

Kris felt on edge suddenly as a suspicion came over him. He walked back to Al's house with the memory of the place fresh in mind and asked for a large piece of paper, which Al had plenty of, and began to make a map of the place. He was starting to get the feeling their strategy was all off. They didn't have the strength of numbers. They had the stealth of few numbers. And less might be more at the end of this day.

Lucky for Kristoff, he had a very photographic memory, and was able to make detailed descriptions of the castle and the guard. And as he looked, a plan began to form inside his head. The craziest, most absurd plan he'd ever heard.

But it might just work.

"I disagree."

Kris had been waiting for the right moment to introduce his plan. Emma had been going over their offense plan, which just solidified it in Kris' mind; that they were completely off track.

"Got something to share with the group, Kris?" she said after a moment.

Kris cleared his throat. "I disagree. Well, not just with that but with the whole plan." he gestured with his hands. "I think that going offensive is a good way to get ourselves killed."

"Kris-" Al started, but he cut him off.

"Have you seen their guard? I'm certain we could disable more than half of their soldiers, but we'd be captured or killed at the end of the day."

"Then what would you suggest, Captain Strategy?" Ralph said from the corner of the room.

"I was there looking at the place today. I think, if we're careful, and above all, smart, we can get inside the castle without any casualties." Silence. Kris continued. "Imagine the blow this will be to Hans. People are going to realize how weak he is that a group of rebels were able to get in to the most guarded building in the kingdom.. Also, we may even be able to-"

"Okay, okay," Emma repeated, "what's your plan?"

Kristoff took a deep breath and described it as best he could without his map.

"That's the stupidest plan I've ever heard." Amos grunted when he was finished.

"Not stupid," Al corrected, "dangerous. Very dangerous. But not stupid."

"And if we really handle ourselves well," Ralph said, "it may not be so dangerous after all."

"Guess I should have brought this up earlier..." Jed mumbled. Everyone looked at him. "I was hearing that there was supposed to be some sort of gathering in the courtyard sometime this week. For all the city. Hans has some announcement or something." He shrugged. "If we did it on that day-"

"Perfect." Kris said. "That will give us just what we need."

"Any objections?" Al said. The plan _was _dangerous, but to his surprise, no one said anything. "Great." Al said. "Meet back tomorrow for finalizing of the plan. We'll see about this announcement as well." With the meeting brought to a close, everyone filed out. Kris put on his coat and hat, and walked outside.

Al caught up with him and they walked home. "Got to admit, Kris, that was a stroke of genius."

Kris shrugged. "Just made sense I guess."

"This may be your area. You should start rebellions more often."

Kris smiled at his friend. "Well, technically, you started it, and if you don't mind I'll stick with ice harvesting after this is over." Silence overtook the conversation as the word sunk in. Over. One way or another, it all would end. Then it would be over.

How was the question.


	11. Chapter 10

**Hello my wonderful readers! Hope you are having a wonderful day, wherever you may be. Here's the next chapter! Peace! ~E-Sharp**

**Shout outs: **

**Jesusfreak: Haha no worries, I love my smileys too. :-) Glad you are enjoying it! So good to hear my work is making people happy. Best part of being an author. Even better than ruining people's lives with cliffhangers. Hehehe just kidding...kind of. ;-)**

**WinterKnight2104: Lol! Fear not, the update shall come! ...soon. :P**

**Guest7602: Hehe, formatting errors. XD **

Two days later the gathering was called.

They had finalized the plan. There were only 15 of them, but Kris knew that that would be plenty if they did it right.

The entire kingdom had gathered in the courtyard, people standing shoulder to shoulder. The body heat of every man in the kingdom gathered almost drowned out the cold. It was the perfect situation. Kristoff milled through the crowd, feeling claustrophobic and desperate for air, but kept walking aimlessly around. He saw a woman in white clothes walk over to him. Emma. She pushed past him with her shoulder, but secretly, handed him a key ring. Kristoff stuck it in his pocket and kept moving.

The first part of the plan was all about stealth and slight of hand. Emma and Ralph were pickpocketing people, getting important things like keys. Kristoff began to inconspicuously move towards the left. He made it to the edge of the crowed and to the south wall. There were four watch towers, two on the south and two on the east. This was the part of the plan Kris wasn't as fond of.

He walked towards the tower closest to the castle and pulled out the key ring, trying to find which one fit the lock as quickly as he could. He finally found it, pulled the key out of the lock and stuffed the ring in his pocket, keeping two of his fingers closed around the right one.

He noticed Ralph out of the corner of his eye, holding a black bag. He threw it to Kris as low as he could and Kris caught it with his left hand. Ralph was already gone by the time he looked up. He quickly pulled out the key, put it in the lock, and turned it. The wooden door swung inward and Kris stepped inside as quickly as possible.

As soon as he was inside he stripped down to his underwear and opened the black bag. Inside was a servants and maintenance uniform. He quickly put it on, stuffed his clothes in the black bag, and slung it over his shoulder. He looked around. The tower was pretty narrow with one spiraling staircase leading up to the top. He began to climb it two steps at a time, going around and around until he reached the top. He pressed his body against one wall. There was just a wooden door. Behind it was a small room where the guard on watch duty sat looking out on the ocean. He reached into the black bag again and pulled out another item; a very stinky rag.

Kris knocked on the door politely. A second later the soldier answered it.

"Morning, sir." Kris said with a smile. "Routine maintenance. You won't mind, will you?"

The guard looked confused for a moment until Kris shoved the rag onto his face. He tried to yell but was cut off quickly as his eyes closed and he dropped to the floor, out like a light. Kris looked inside the room to check for any more guards. Seeing no one, he ran inside to the window. The view was incredible. He stuck the black bag out of the window for a few minutes, then raced back down to the bottom of the tower. He opened the door to allow the group inside. Emma, Ralph and Al walked in.

"Smooth work there, blondie." Ralph said, patting him on the shoulder. Kris grimaced. "Please, don't call me that." "Whatever you say, sunshine." Kris rolled his eyes and shut the door. "Any signal yet from group two?" Kris asked.

"Not yet." Emma said. "Should be there soon though." Kris nodded nervously and led the way up. Al seemed confident with Isaac and Amos' abilities, but he still felt cautious. Scaling the castle walls wasn't something to be taken lightly.

Emma didn't waste any time when they got to the top. She opened up the windows facing south and climbed out. Kris nearly yelled at her to be careful, but by the time he opened his mouth she had already climbed on the roof of the tower. He shook his head and followed. The heights freaked him out. Below him was nothing but rocks and ocean. Certain death if he slipped. He gripped the side of the window tighter as he whipped himself around and out of the window, his feet on to the windowsill and his hands to the roof. He suddenly felt a wave of nausea. He shoved it down and tiptoed out onto a tiny outcropping of rock, just big enough for his toes. He climbed up onto the surface of the next brick up, then the next, until he was able to pull himself onto the roof. Emma was already working.

"Took you long enough," she chided. Kris grabbed onto the flagpole reaching out of the pointed roof and took a deep breath.

Another five minutes and everyone was on the roof. Emma watched the castle nervously. Hans had just appeared on the balcony facing the courtyard with a resounding silence and was beginning his announcement. Suddenly Emma's eyes lit up. "There they are!" she exclaimed. Kris looked in the direction of the castle, and sure enough, on top of the roof not too far away were Isaac and Amos waving. "How the hell they pulled that off, I'll never know." Al shook his head. Kris couldn't agree more. A second later was a whiz and a thunk as a small arrow hit the pointed roof. Tied to it was a thick cord. Emma pulled the arrow out of the roof shillings, untied the cable and started wrapping it around the flagpole, knotting it and knotting it again until it was tight. Then she reached into her pack, pulled out a metal bar and threw it to Kris.

"You first." she said and tossed similar bars to the others. Kris gulped. He didn't realize while planning just how tall the tower was. He looked out below. Hans was standing on the balcony in royal fashion, delivering his elegant speech, which Kris wasn't paying attention to. Farther below the mass of people stood in silence.

For the most part the southern edge of the castle would block the people's view of them, but there was a small window where they might notice them. Hopefully Hans knew how to give a captivating speech.

He held on to the bar with one hand, lifted it over the cord, and grabbed the other end with his free hand. He tested his weight on it. It was very tight, but that didn't make him any less nervous.

"Whose dumb idea was this?" he complained.

"Yours, dumbarse." Emma smirked.

"Man, I hate my ideas."

She laughed. "You scared of heights?"

Kris laughed nervously. "Heights? No way." He shrugged. "Falling from heights, yes."

Kris took a deep breath. This was the craziest thing he'd ever done. The craziest thing any of them had ever done. He just hoped they were doing the right thing. He held on so tight his knuckles turned white, then launched himself off the roof with his feet.

It only lasted a few seconds, but it was terrifying.

Kris held on for dear life as he sped down the cord, nothing but a bar of metal between him and certain death. Fear coursed through him like blood through his veins. Every part of him panicked but he still held on. Not that he could have done anything else.

Then it was over. He had made it to the other side, onto another pointed roof. Isaac extended his calloused hand and pulled Kris onto the roof. "Glad ya could make it." he grunted. Kris hunched over and took a series of deep breaths, glad for it just to be over.

A minute later Al came over, just as shaken up as Kris had been. Then Emma and Ralph sped over, looking perfectly fine. Ralph even seemed energized by the ordeal. The whole thing took about ten minutes, this being their first time doing something so outrageous.

"Group 3 stationed?" Amos asked.

"Should be. If they were paying attention." Kris answered.

Isaac motioned with a hand for them to follow him. Having recovered, his legs feeling steady again, he slowly followed with the rest of the group.

They walked across the slanted roof, walking above some windows and ducking when they passed others. Isaac stopped in front of a dusty window and motioned towards it. "Attic window," he said quietly. "That's our best bet." Kris nodded and, swinging his metal bar, broke the glass. Breaking the smaller pieces in, making it safer to cross without being cut, he hopped inside.

The window sat a foot above the floor. When he landed a cloud of dust rose around him. He coughed into his sleeve and looked around. Nothing but old furniture and dust. Everyone piled in behind him as he looked for the door. He found it on one side of the floor and found the latch to unlock it. He looked up at the group, unlatched it, and got out of the way. As it lowered, a ladder slipped down with it, and with a thunk hit the ground. Kris listened, and when he was sure no one was down there, descended the ladder rung by rung.

He hopped onto the red carpet at the bottom. They were in a long hallway with doors on either sides. The inside of the castle was beautiful. Paintings of important people and scenes lined the walls, along with wallpaper that matched Arendelle's flag colors. The doors on either side were tall and majestic with patterns also matching the flag. He looked around and chuckled to himself. They had made it. His dangerous, outrageous, stupid plan had actually worked.

"Ha. We did it." Ralph said once he had lowered.

"We're not done yet," Kris reminded him. "Keep in mind there are probably still soldiers patrolling the inside of the castle. Also servants. First order of business, find the balcony. We may be able to catch Hans there before he realizes something is wrong and end this right here. Next priority, get to the courtyard gates, storm the courtyard and cut down as many soldiers as we can. _Do not _kill anyone. Understood?" Everyone grunted their assent. "Let's go then."

Isaac pulled black face masks out of his bag and handed one to everyone. Kristoff slipped his on. Two small holes cut out of the fabric allowed him to see. It was critical for the rebellion that their identities weren't discovered. Kris took down the hall, his friends following close behind him.

Kris found the stairwell and they descended two stories, to the balcony floor. Keeping an eye out for enemies, they creeped along the side of the wall to the balcony. It was empty.

"Damn," Al cursed, "missed him."

"We don't have much time," Kris announced. The crowd gathered in the courtyard was beginning to stir as people began to wander out, back into the villages. "Hans could be anywhere in the castle now. It would take forever to search for him. And if anyone were to see us-" As if on cue, a group of soldiers turned a corner and entered the hallway. They stopped short when they saw the masked strangers. They stared at each other for a long moment, then with unspoken consent, Kris and their group ran.

It didn't take long for the soldiers to snap out of their daze and follow. Kris sped down the hallways, keeping with the rest of the group as they ran for their lives down the hallway. Kris turned a corner into a hallway lined with doors. "Al?" he asked. Al was the only one who knew the layout of the palace, being employed by the government.

He knew what Kris was asking. "Last door on the right."

Kris ran ahead. When he reached the door he swung it open and sped into another spiral stairwell and ran down, two steps at a time. The rest of his group followed his lead, and the soldiers came right behind them.

They burst out of the door at the bottom and into the next hallway. The soldiers were gaining ground, and all they had for weapons were their metal poles. Kris noticed a statue of armor on one side of the hall up ahead and had a thought. He sped ahead and sure enough, on the side of the statue, was a sword. He pulled it out of it's sheath. The hilt was small, the blade long. It was uncomfortable in Kris's hands, but it would do. He slowed and dropped to the back of the group, where the soldiers were about to overtake them. The ruckus had drawn the attention of other soldiers who now followed as well. Kris stopped in front of the group of soldiers and swung the sword, even though he had absolutely no experience, towards the closest soldier's legs. The blade connected with bone and he felt the skin slice under it. The soldier cried out in pain and fell, tripping several of the others. Kris ran off again at full speed.

"Right here!" Al yelled and they all barreled into the door he pointed to. When they were all in, Al ran to one door, Isaac to the other. With the small lead they had they shut to doors and bolted them. The distraction was a small one, since the head of the guard no doubt had keys, but Kris saw Al's plan instantly. There were three other doors in the room. If they hurried there would be no way for them to know which way they went. Al ran to one of the doors on the right, and they followed. He tried it. Locked. They tried the next one. Locked. Kris was panicking. They had trapped themselves.

When Al tried the next door, it swung open. Kris exhaled the breath he didn't realize he'd been holding and ran after him. Just as Ralph, the last person in, shut the door, Kris thought he heard the soldiers rush in.

They ran down another long hallway. When they reached the end, they opened another door into another stairwell. Kris marvelled at the sheer size of the palace. It was even bigger than it looked from the outside, which was saying something, because it looked enormous.

They made it to the first floor. Kris just hoped there was still enough of a crowd for the plan to work. Or they'd be in some serious trouble.

A few small groups of soldiers noticed them and chased after them, but this time, they had a good lead on them. When they reached the main gates, Kris and Al worked to remove the bar held across the door. As soon as it was out of the way, they burst through the gates and outside.

Kris allowed himself a small moment of relief. There was still a huge crowd. He saw a few faces of group three on the sides of the courtyard. They knew what to do.

Then everything turned to chaos. Kris could hardly keep track of it all. The soldiers guarding the perimeter of the courtyard started to go down one by one. Group three was instructed to cut down as many soldiers at the legs as they could. Not to kill them or permanently handicap them, just to knock them down until they could get medical attention. They were doing it beautifully. Screams went up from the soldiers, startling the crowd. They milled about in a panicked frenzy and fought to get to the entrance.

Now Kris' group only had one more thing to do: get out.

This was by far the most dangerous part of the plan, but the throng of people should provide them safe cover...should, Kris thought.

As one, they ran into the storm. Kris took the lead, since he was the only one with a sword, and cut down any soldiers who stood in the way. Kris looked up. Just as he suspected, archers were now standing on the roof of their castle, bows aimed at the crowd. Kris knew they weren't going to fire. There was no way they could get a clear shot or even know who was who with the mass of people. There was no way they'd take the risk of hitting a civilian.

But Kris was wrong.

A volley of arrows fired from the roof. Kris' mind went in circles. This wasn't supposed to happen. Innocent civilians went down around him. But that was all they fired. One volley. It was enough though. Not one arrow missed a body.

Kris didn't have time to worry or regret. He had to get out. He ripped off his mask and threw it on the ground along with his sword. The others did the same. Finally, they made it to the gates, and Kris rushed through as quickly as he could. When they were out in the fresh air again, he ran, leaving his group behind him, trying to catch up, and he didn't stop running until he had reached the villages.

_What have we done?_


	12. Chapter 11

The first she remembered was darkness. Not the scary kind though, the smooth, beautiful kind. The darkness of peace. Of deep slumber.

Slowly her thoughts came together from the jumbled mess of her mind. She wished that she could remain in that darkness, but when her mind started waking up she couldn't stop it. She slowly opened her eyes.

White. That was the first thing she saw. Bedsheets. She looked down and saw that she was covered to the neck in comfortable sheets and blankets. She took in the room. Very small, but cozy. There was a window to her left. The sun was beginning to rise, turning the room fiery orange and red.

Elsa tried to sit up, but a sharp pain in her abdomen stopped her. Then it all came rushing back.

She plopped back down on the pillow as the loads of information went by in flashes in her mind's eye. To her right someone stirred. She hadn't noticed Jonathan sleeping soundly in a chair by the wall a moment ago.

He opened his eyes and smiled. "Elsa." he said, trying to stop a yawn. "You're awake."

She smiled back. "I guess I am."

"How do you feel?" he asked hesitantly.

She sighed. "Don't know yet."

His faced was etched with concern. "Mind if I take a look?" she hesitated, then nodded, realizing she was still in her undergarments. She didn't have time to be embarrassed about it though. She was alive. And for the moment that was all that mattered. He had done it. He had gotten her the cure before it was too late.

He pulled the covers down to her waist and she lifted her thin undershirt up just above her stomach and stretched her neck to look.

It looked...amazing. It was still red and irritated, and nasty looking stitches were all over, but there was no infection, no blood. She sighed and almost laughed to herself. Incredible.

"It looks great." he said, pulling the covers back up. "It's improved a lot. You want help sitting up?"

She shook her head. The last thing she wanted was for him to touch her and for her to accidentally hurt him, after all he'd done. So through a twinge of pain, she pushed herself up and gave him a weary smile.

He looked at the floor, avoiding eye contact. "So um...I'm sorry I had to, well, you know, invade your modesty to-"

Elsa just started laughing. It was all so ridiculous. He was making _her _feel bad. "Jonathan, you just _saved my life._ Don't apologize. Just, please don't." He smiled sheepishly and blushed. "How long have I been out?" she asked, trying to change subject.

"A little more than a day. To be honest I'm surprised you woke up so soon."

She nodded. "Where are we?"

"A few miles up the mountain. A man and his wife agreed to give us a place to stay."

"Aren't the soldiers looking for me?" she asked, curious.

"Oh yeah. Stopped by here yesterday, actually. We got out of that pickle pretty quickly though."

All was silent for a moment. "So...werewolf poison. Have a lot of experience with that?" she finally asked.

He shook his head. "Nah, it's just something we doctors know about. We don't talk about it...ever, but we all know about it. I've never had to cure someone of it before, but my instructor cured several."

"The werewolf who cut me...he..." She shivered at the rememberance.

"Spoke?" Jonathan filled in.

She looked at him with confusion. "Yeah...how did you-"

"We sorcerers know about a lot of these things."

"So tell me. About the werewolves."

He sat back down in his chair and put a hand to his head. "Werewolves are actually all people who have been bitten by other werewolves. There is a cure for werewolf bite as well but it's so rare obtaining it is nearly impossible. Anyway, by day they're ordinary people, although they develop wolf-ish features, and by night they're animalistic natures take over them and they can't do anything about it. Although they can speak in their wolf form. When they're in wolf form their animal instincts force them to obey the pack leader, who I think is the Hunter."

"You think the Hunter is a werewolf?" she asked, incredulous.

He shrugged. "Probably. Werewolves are hard to work with. My guess is that the Hunter is a very intelligent werewolf, still able to associate with people, but since he _is _a werewolf, his wolfy brothers will obey his orders. But that's just my guess."

"Better than my guess at least." Elsa said, thinking about it all. She had a sudden urge to stand up, to get blood moving through her legs. All this discussion was making her eager to find out more. She pulled off the covers and put her legs over the side, no longer worried about her modesty. Jonathan saw what she was trying to do a second too late.

"Elsa, be care-" he tried to say.

She stood up too quickly. Blood rushed to her head and she felt dizzy. She started to lose her balance. She regained it with a foot but only for a moment before falling. Jonathan was there instantly and caught her. She tried to warn him not to, but too late. She felt her power leak out of her upon the contact and fought to pull it back inside of her. Jonathan grunted in pain, and with a heave he pushed her back onto the bed. She quickly saw the damaged she'd done. His arms were frozen up to his elbows in a thin layer of ice. She was momentarily relieved that that was as bad as it had been. It could have been much, much worse. Then she felt guilty and worried that he'd be angry, but as he stared at his arms he just winced and smiled. "Um...if you'll excuse me, I'm just going to go thaw out." He walked to the door and shut it behind him.

Elsa felt terrible, but decided to give walking a go again. It took a few minutes for her to catch her balance but when she did she was walking fine. The pain in her abdomen had reduced to nothing more than a dull ache. When Jonathan returned his forearms were red and he was rubbing them constantly.

"You're up!" he said with a smile.

She extended her arms like she had accomplished something great. "I'm just fabulous like that." she shrugged.

Jonathan laughed. "Well, I made breakfast, so I guess we're even." He pointed to another chair in another corner of the room, where a stack of clothes lay. "Some fresh clothes there. Might be a little big but it was the best we could do."

She nodded. "Thank you."

He closed the door and she quickly put on the clothes, feeling good as new mentally, ready to get going again. They were a good fit. Just a long sleeved shirt, a thin jacket and some jeans. After doing her hair in the reflection of the window she walked out into the living room. The smell of food wafted through the air. Two plates were set out on the table, Jonathan sitting on one side in front of his, looking giddy like...well, like a kid who had just made breakfast for his family.

He stood up and pulled out her chair, then pushed it in when she had seated herself. When he was back in his seat, she started on her meal; an egg, sliced apples, two strips of bacon and a small glass of orange juice. After eating a few bites she noticed Jonathan hadn't eaten any.

"So?" he asked. "What do you think?"

"They actually fit fine." she said casually, even though she knew what he was talking about.

He laughed. "I meant the food, silly."

"Tip," she said, pointing her fork at him, "don't become a chef, stick to the medical business." Then she smiled. "It's delicious." Satisfied, he started on his food as the sun separated itself from the mountains and launched into the sky.

Jonathan explained that the man and his wife who owned the house were off at their respective jobs, so they cleaned the dishes, made the beds and cleaned up the house as well as they could. When they were finished they sat at the dining table again to discuss a plan.

"So what's our next step?" Elsa asked.

"Okay, here's what I was thinking," Jonathan started, "The locals think the mountain Gerard is cursed. That can't just be a legend-"

"So we start climbing the mountain," Elsa finished.

"Don't interrupt!" He said with a smile, and continued. "As I was saying, we start climbing the mountain, and see what attacks us."

"Well, I wonder how long that will take." Elsa grumbled.

"There's more though," he said. "But just let me ask this to be sure. You said the werewolf...talked. What did he say, exactly?" Elsa tried to remember, then recounted it for him. "Just as I thought." he said quietly. "Okay, in theory, the werewolves work for the hunter. And the hunter was the one who...shot my friends. Point is, that first werewolf had the perfect opportunity to bite your face off, but didn't. The Hunter had at least two opportunities to kill you but didn't. I think whoever he's working for wants you alive."

Elsa thought for a moment. "Should I be comforted by that?" she wondered aloud.

"I don't think there's much to think of that right this second. But what we do know is that if we just start moving, someone will find us. Then we get the information we need and keep moving."

"Easier said than done." Elsa pointed out.

"Any other ideas?" He countered.

She shrugged. "I guess we have nothing to lose."

"Plus, we do make a pretty good team. We could fight off anything long enough to get what we need." She nodded. They did make a good team. _Team. _A word she never could have applied to herself just days before. She smiled at the thought. This Hunter didn't have a chance against them.

After stocking their packs and writing a thank you note for the couple, Elsa, Jonathan and Lenora were on their wa. It felt good to be on the road again, wherever it was going to lead them.

They rode in a northeasterly direction towards Gerard which stuck out like a sore thumb on the landscape, reaching high into the sky. "So...before, in Iris," Elsa began, "you had said something about the...Curse of the Master, was it?"

"Ah, yes," Jonathan recalled. "That's another one of those things that we sorcerers know about but don't really...know about."

"That explains a lot." Elsa commented sarcastically.

"What we do know about it is this; It's been around since the Roman Empire, only the Masters know about it-"

"The Masters?" she asked.

"Yes, the Masters. Every generation the most powerful sorcerer in the world is called the Master. Second thing we know is that the Masters are the only ones powerful enough to complete the curse, hence the name."

She nodded. "So why do you think this is relevant?" she asked, confused.

"Because I've never seen anything quite like your curse. I mean, I may be powerful, but not half as powerful as you could be...one day. I've reached the height of my power. You still have a long ways to go until you uncover yours fully. I'm not sure any normal sorcerer could pull off a curse like that." Elsa considered that. It seemed odd, that as powerful and feared as she already was, she could become even more so. She shivered at the thought.

Then something else struck her memory. "Those Arendelle soldiers...were they...?"

"Yeah," he answered, "they were. Their power was extremely limited compared to ours. It took all twelve of them to do that...ring of fire thing. But yes, they are."

"Is it possible for one to learn how to become a magician without being cursed?" Elsa wondered.

"No. Unless you are born with it, which they certainly were not, it's impossible."

"Then who cursed them?" Elsa asked.

"It just makes my theory more acceptable, that something bigger is going on behind the scenes here, although this part of it really worries me." Elsa nodded, knowing why. He continued. "Hans has been getting his hands dirty in places he shouldn't be. Anything is possible from here on out. We need to be extra careful." Elsa couldn't agree more.

"Do you think they'll wait til nightfall to attack us?" she asked. "I mean, if they do, because they're werewolves."

"Probably." he answered. A few hours later they dismounted and walked Lenora along. The shadow of the mountain towered over them now, like a giant guarding a palace. Elsa began to understand why the locals thought of the mountain as cursed. Something about it radiated contempt.

They reached the foot of the mountain by nightfall with no interruptions. Elsa knew she would be thankful but a day without problems just made her wary of whatever was going to happen next. She knew it wouldn't be long. They set up a small camp. Jonathan had a sleeping bag and a mass of blankets. Elsa didn't need anything. Jonathan made a small fire. Elsa knew she should be getting some sleep, but couldn't seem to find it. So she sat on one side of the fire, and Jonathan on the other.

"So." Jonathan started. "What really happened?"

Elsa looked at him curiously. "What happened what?"

"You know. You with the whole Arendelle fiasco."

She swallowed. She wasn't good at talking about _normal_ things. Forget trying to recount deep, emotional things. She tried to change the subject. "I was wondering the same thing about you," she covered.

He smiled. "I'll make you a deal. I'll tell you my story if you'll tell me yours."

"Or," Elsa said a little too quickly, "We could just not talk about our...histories."

"That's an option too." They sat in silence for a few minutes. Elsa knew it wouldn't last though. She was dying to know where he had come from.

"Deal." she said at last.

He looked up from the fire. "Sorry?"

"I said deal," she repeated.

"Should I go first?" he asked.

"Yes." she answered immediately.

He took a deep breath. "Well I was born um...in a poor household. Illegitimately. Never met my father, don't know how he and my mom came together." Elsa was comforted by how hard of a time he was having talking about it. "I was the shame of her family, you know. And just wait until they found out I could control and...create electricity. You know, that didn't go over well. Caused a few...unfortunate accidents. Well, obviously, my mom tried to help me through it, but things went downhill pretty fast. More accidents which I tried to cover up, more deaths..." He took a shaky breath, then looked up. "I am really bad at this." Elsa realized that he didn't actually want to tell her just for coversation. He was hating every second of it. He was telling her because he wanted her to _trust _him. "You don't have-" She tried to say. "No, no, I'm fine." He gave her a pathetic looking smile. "The accident that snapped me was my mom. It was a stupid accident, happened when I was twelve, but she was the victim. It snapped me. She was the only tie I had to life, to reality, the only reason I had to live. I started to terrorize Iris. My power grew. No one could stop me. After I was done...there, I left. I ventured into other countries causing as much havoc as I could. My heart had turned dark. I had become an...evil person." His eyes were glassy as an odd smile crept across his face. "Then I met him. I travelled to Norway, and I met another sorcerer. For years I had thought I was the only one. He was an older guy, in his sixties at least, and he stood in my way. I tried to fight him with my powers but he was more skilled than I was. He defeated me. It was my first defeat, and it broke me. Something odd happened then. I thought he was going to kill me, but he didn't. He took me into his home, gave me hot chocolate, wrapped me in a blanket, and I broke. I smashed hard. I spilled it all to him. I was just fourteen, and I had murdered..." He shook his head. "So many. He listened to my whole story as I wept. Something about his eyes were just...I could see it. He felt compassion for me. He loved me. It had been so long I had almost forgotten what love was, but when he smiled, I was reminded. He offered me to stay with him. He said he would teach me a trade and how to use my powers for the good of others. He had the gift of controlling plant life. He could grow herbs or trees or...anything. Together, with my electric powers and his genius we revolutionized medical science. Most of the stuff was so advanced in science we had to keep it secret and give patients a heavy dose of narcotics before operating, for fear people would accuse us of witchcraft." He chuckled to himself. "He taught me everything I know about medical science, how to be a doctor, how to use my powers. He taught me that I couldn't control my powers, because that was impossible, he said, but instead how to use them for the good of mankind. He was hard on me, not letting me be lazy or selfish, but he loved me like...like only one person ever had. He became a father to me and never left me, up until he took his last breath." He gave Elsa a weak smile. "After that, I returned to Iris. He kept telling me that one day I'd have to return there. To face what I'd left behind. All the demons and evil spirits there...that I would have to face them. That I would conquer them. So I did. I set up a medical business, but on the side, took out criminals, assassinated tyrants, etcetera. They named me the Gravedigger. They never would have guessed that the famous Gravedigger was the leading medical man of the town." He smiled and shook his head. "Your turn." Elsa was completely at ease now. Somehow, he had opened her up. He had gone through exactly what she had. She took a deep breath.

"My powers started so early that they thought I had been born with them," she began. "They started off small, but grew in surprising strength. My parents were terribly worried but couldn't tell anyone of my...gift. Then came the first accident, my sister. I accidentally..." Elsa took a shaky breath. She wasn't sure if she should tell this part. It always seemed to weird to account. "Well, my parents knew someone who could help. He saved Anna's life, but my parents were determined to never let anything like that happen again. And so was I. They locked me up in my room for thirteen years. I hated every second of it, but I knew it was necessary to protect Anna...and my parents. And the kingdom. I kept trying to get my powers under control and continued to fail. Years later my parents had to go across the sea to Europe. Some sort of family-politics stuff or something, I don't know. I wish I would have known...they never came back. A couple years later I was old enough to become queen of Arendelle. The coronation was going well until the banquet. My sister and I got into a fight, I let my powers get the best of me, and everyone found out my secret. So I ran. I left the city and fled into the mountains. Somewhere along the line Hans became steward of Arendelle. He sent soldiers after me..." The reality hit her again. She felt a tear slide down her cheek. She sniffed and forced it all back in. "I killed them all. Every single soldier he sent. I don't know why or how I was so...heartless, mindless. I killed them all." She choked and fought it all back in. If Jonathan could handle himself so well while telling his tragic past, so could she. She risked a look up at him, worried he would be shocked. Surprised at what an evil person she had become. But in his eyes she saw something different. She couldn't put a name to it, but she liked it. Whatever it was, she felt like he understood her. No one ever had understood her like he could. If she had shared this with anyone else, she knew exactly what response she would get, but she didn't get it from him. He knew her. In that moment, she felt that they understood each other better than they had ever understood anyone.

Somehow, the sadness faded slowly, the heartache. The pain of the last few years...it all faded. It was still there, but the space it had once taken up was replaced by something different. She just wish she knew what. All she knew was that it was beautiful, and if she could, she would stay in this moment for all of eternity, just basking in that beautiful feeling.


	13. Chapter 12

**Hey guys! I'm back!**

**Sorry for the delay for this chapter. Internet has been off since Friday and it was just repaired last night. A storm knocked down a tower and they had to reprogram it all manually or something. Missed y'all! So anyways, here's the next chapter. Yeah, it's a cliffhanger. Sorry. Kind of. Yeah. Enjoy. **

The next morning, with the wind at their back, they began their ascent of the mountain.

They were forced to walk most of the way. Elsa was feeling even better than she had the previous morning, with enough strength and stamina that she felt like she could go on forever. She reminded herself, once again, that their good luck would not last forever.

The first challenge came with the steep mountain slope, which was both challenging and exhausting. Carefully watching every step taken, usually on the face of the cliff. Several times they feared the slope would be too narrow for Lenora, but she made it across fine on all occasions. It didn't take long for Elsa's ankles and legs to become sore and tired.

The second challenge came in the form of a storm. The clouds gathered quickly and the wind picked up, making the slope even more dangerous than it already was. Snow began to fall slightly, then picked up. Elsa would have stopped it if she could, but she only knew how to create snow, not how to stop it from falling from the sky.

Fresh snow accumulated on the ground, which was fine for Elsa, but not for Lenora and Jonathan. It made travelling terribly difficult as well. Then the lightning started. Jonathan was able to use his powers to keep their area safe from the bolts for the most part, but the fear of avalanches still weighed heavily on them.

As Elsa knew it would eventually, Jonathan's powers wore thin. He collapsed to the ground and a white streak of lightning hit the mountain face. The ground beneath them rumbled, then shook. Rocks and hard snow began to fall from the sky, heading right towards them. After a moment's hesitation, Elsa reached for Jonathan and helped him up, fighting desperately not to let her fear leak out into her powers. That was the last thing they needed. They trudged through the snow as fast as possible, trying to get out of the avalanche's way. They entered a bank of fog as they ran, forcing them to slow their pace. Elsa squinted as they ran, trying to make sure they weren't about to run over a cliff.

She heard the crash of the avalanche behind them. They had just barely missed it. Elsa took a deep breath but didn't slow her pace. The snow invigorated her, kept her alive and moving. She took a deep breath and ran on.

Elsa was made for snow. She could walk through a snowstorm for hours and not be tired or in the least bit cold. Jonathan, however, could not. She barely heard him fall once again in the sound of the strong winds. Forcing her powers deep inside her, she grabbed him and pulled him up again. She helped him onto Lenora, grabbed her reins, and kept walking.

The extra weight on Lenora made the going slower. Elsa was subconsciously aware that they were going up, but other than that she really had no idea how far up they were or where they were going at all. The wind was almost enough to send all of them over whatever cliff was just feet away, but somehow, impossibly, Elsa stood her ground and kept moving.

Time went by, the storm still in full force. Several more avalanches crashed on other sides of the mountain, the sounds of their crashes echoing around the mountain. Elsa didn't know how much time had passed, or how long the storm had been raging, but she was only worried about one thing, and that was how much longer it would be before it let up. Even just a little bit. Anything would be easier than this. And yet, impossibly, time stretched on. She didn't understand how it could just keep going like this, but even more impossible still was that she matched it's endurance. As long as the storm was content to rage, she was content to keep moving.

She slowly began to recognize the sky darkening. Because of the mountain standing in it's path the sun would naturally set earlier. She could hardly see in the storm during the day. If night fell...

She had to find some kind of shelter. A cave, anything. She knew even she couldn't make it in this storm as soon as the sun went down.

It continued to get darker, her fear stronger. Her fear turned to panic. She continued to fight back the power that wanted to flow out of her to relieve her, but wouldn't let it. So she let her panic build inside her.

Night was upon them. She was completely blind. She walked along aimlessly, praying she wasn't about to go off a cliff, listening to the echos of the wind as her only guide.

Finally, she had an idea. It was tiring just to think about, but she knew she had no choice. She pulled Lenora as close to the cliff wall as she could and put all of her panic and energy into her mind, then released it.

Instantly the snow stopped, along with the wind, which was bizarre because just a few feet in front of her she could see it in full force. She had erected another invisible shield around them. However this one was much larger and she was forced to make it very strong, due to the storm. How she had made the last one while she was unconscious she would never know. She felt the instant drain of energy and fell into the snow. She took deep breaths and just hoped she could keep the shield up as long as the storm continued. Which might be all night, she thought.

With a smaller blast she cleared the ground of snow. It felt lonely and desolate without it, but she'd need to make a fire for Jonathan, and she couldn't do that with snow on the ground. Then realized she'd also need firewood and groaned inside. She walked outside of the shield, back into the full force of the snow, self consciously keeping the shield up as she searched the snow for any wood at all. She was able to find a few small branches and twigs. It would have to be enough.

When she made it back to the shield, Jonathan had woken up and Lenora had made herself comfortable. She put the wood on the ground to dry and sat next to Jonathan, leaning on Lenora's belly.

Jonathan shivered next to her. "You alright?" she asked.

He nodded quickly. "Yes. Just a little cold is all." He gave her a weak smile and extended a finger towards the wood. A small bolt of electricity came from it and lit the wood on fire. The warmth it brought was instant. Elsa felt irritated by it, but the comfort it brought Jonathan was obvious in his face. A few minutes later he drifted off to a peaceful sleep. Elsa wanted so badly to sleep as well, but knew she had to keep the shield up at least until morning or the storm ended. So she forced herself to stay awake, with no one for company but Leonora and her thoughts.

It was a few hours later when the first signs of the storm lightening up showed. Elsa took her first opportunity. She roused Jonathan, got Lenora ready, and cut off the energy flowing from her. They storm still raged but in considerably less strength than before. It was ending. She ran ahead in excitement, pulling Lenora behind her. Jonathan hurried to catch up. In a few hours the blizzard mellowed to a steady snowfall. Then the fog dissipated and the air cleared. Elsa took in a breath. The view was amazing.

They were higher up on the mountain than she had thought. Below her was the city of Iris, the castle lit up in the midst of the dark landscape. The stars shimmered above, beautiful in every way. She and Jonathan both stopped to admire the scene before continuing.

As the sky lightened in dawn they discovered a narrow pass just wide enough for Lenora. It was the only way to go, so they took it. The walked along in the crevice. Neither of them felt the need to make conversation, so they walked on in silence, the comfort of a new day enough for them.

Elsa became more unnerved every second they walked. Nothing had attacked them yet. Something weird was definitely going on, but it wouldn't show it's face. Every second more they walked she felt even more that they were walking right into a trap.

The crevice seemed to last forever, well into the day, then it ended. They appeared on another side of the mountain and saw the strangest thing; a path. A perfectly clear, stone path. No snow, no dirt, just perfectly cut stone, leading farther up the mountain.

"Well, that's weird." Jonathan remarked.

That was an understatement. It was bizarre. "Should we take it?" Elsa asked.

He shrugged. "Do we have another choice?" She saw what he meant. Ahead of them, past the path, was a cliff. She looked over. It seemed like it went down forever into a large crevice.

She took a deep breath. "Alright then." she said with finality. After a quick lunch they began their ascent.

The path was wide enough for Lenora, Jonathan and Elsa to stand side by side, with still ten feet to spare. Elsa didn't have to worry about falling off the cliff anymore, and her feet weren't as sore anymore, but that did very little to put her at ease. A million questions entered her mind, but she decided it wasn't worth it to continue to consider them. No answers were just going to appear out of thin air, so she silently tried to force her mind to be at ease.

That night, they met the third challenge.

They reached the top of the path as the sky darkened. Nothing could have prepared her for what she was about to face. At the top of the path was a circle of stone hanging on the side of the mountain. It was about as large as a well-to-do Arendelle home. Perhaps a monastery at one time. Ruins were everywhere inside; pillars, a broken staircase to a second floor, most of which had been destroyed, old stone objects, a few walls. Everything about it was dark on a deeper level. Elsa could feel it in the breeze. Every shadow appeared darker than usual, every noise amplified and distorted. Something was definitely wrong here. Something evil was nearby...

Jonathan seemed to sense it too. He stood mortified, looking at the ruins in the glow of the full moon. "We have to go through it," Elsa said quietly, not sure she wanted to follow her own advice. Jonathan swallowed and nodded solemnly. Lenora protested, but they got her under control. And they walked in.

On the first step she took, a new kind of terror took control over her mind. It wasn't like when she had heard the wolves. This was a psychotic kind of terror that invaded her mind, one that she couldn't control. She put her hands over her ears even though she couldn't hear a thing. Jonathan seemed likewise affected. Everything she saw began to warp. Things began to change color, lean at impossible angles. The pillars grew faces. _Faces._ Horrible, horrible faces. Faces that screamed in terror. She knew she was hallucinating. None of this could be real. It defied every sense of logic she knew. But she couldn't stop the ultimate feeling of terror that began to destroy her mind piece by piece. She felt it. She was going insane. She closed her eyes, but the faces were still there. Still screaming. Their screams were unlike anything she had ever heard before. The screams of the damned. She began to scream as well, but couldn't hear herself over the faces. Her throat went raw from the effort. Her whole body exploded. She knew it was impossible, but when she opened her eyes and looked down, she saw that she didn't even exist. She had literally exploded. But no, she hadn't. She was suddenly aware that she actually hadn't opened her eyes at all. They were still closed.

Then everything was normal. She opened her eyes. The pillars were back were they should be, everything it's right shade of color. She couldn't see the faces, but she could still hear the screams, although they were quieter now. Lenora was no where in sight. Jonathan recovered as well, but not as well as she had. His eyes were alive with terror. Although she was afraid, she certainly wasn't as frightened and panicked as he seemed.

"Jonathan," she tried to say, but he just kept mumbling to himself.

"No, no, no, no, no," It turned into a scream. "No! No! NO!"

She was scared herself now, for him, fearing he had lost his mind, when she saw what he was looking at. Her heart skipped a beat. If she hadn't already been terrified before, she was now.

Across from them, standing among the ruins, was a woman. She was thin, didn't look healthy at all. She wore poor clothing, but not worn clothing. Her whole body shone a ghostly shade of blue. Her hair blew behind her in slow motion in the now forceful breeze. She had black scars all over her arms. But the scariest thing were here eyes. They were white. Her eyes were white. No irises or pupils. White.

The ghostly woman whispered something Elsa couldn't make out at first. When she whispered it again, she understood. "Jonathan..." she whispered. "Jonathan...Jonathan...Jonathan..."

Jonathan continued to scream, holding his hands to his head to block out the whispers as they grew in strength. Then more ghosts appeared, people of different types; short, tall, thin, stout, people of different clothing; rich, poor, soldiers, peasants, people who all had white eyes, glowed pale blue, and had black scars all over them. And they all whispered his name.

From somewhere in the crowd, Elsa heard something different. It grew in volume like Jonathan's had. Someone was saying _her_ name. She scanned the crowd for whoever it was and finally locked eyes with him. In that moment she didn't know what she felt, and never would be able to recount it again. The numb terror became a new emotion in of itself as she looked upon the boy whom she had killed on the mountain. That young man whom she had killed first. She had watched him die. Watched the life drain out of him. His white eyes were fixed on her as he chanted her name like it was some evil spell. When she looked closer she saw a small hole in his stomach, which she could see through to the other side of the ruins, where she had stabbed him.

She wanted to gag, wanted to scream, wanted to do anything. But all she could do was stare. Around her, she heard her name from other places. She pulled her eyes away from the boy and looked around. More men, dressed in Arendelle clothing, all with terrible wounds, pieces of flesh missing all over their bodies where she had injured and killed them. More apparitions appeared from out of no where. Arendelle soldiers. Iris soldiers. Even civilians popped up. Children. People who had been killed by the effects of the winter she had caused. They chanted her name louder and louder.

She had forgotten all about Jonathan. Finally, she couldn't hold it back anymore. She screamed and felt all of her darkest emotions flood into her powers. A heavy snowstorm began just outside the ruins. Not a single snowflake fell on the ruins, protected by some sort of magical barrier, but outside of the ruins, a storm raged in incredible strength and intensity. She was numbly aware of lightning in the midst of the storm she had created. She dropped to the ground and screamed, covering her ears, tears streaking her cheeks. Guilt. Terror. Anger. Sorrow. But above all, guilt.

Then something changed. She stopped screaming and opened her eyes. The ghosts still chanted her name in incredible volume, and the sounds of Jonathan's screams still filled the air, but something had changed. It was like a veil had been removed from her eyes. She suddenly understood, and hated herself for being so gullible.

She ran among the apparitions in search of Jonathan. She finally found him, curled up in a fetal position, not screaming anymore, just mumbling and shaking. Elsa bit her lip, then made a decision. She knelt down next to him, grabbed him, and shook him.

"Jonathan!" she yelled, even though it hurt her voice. Jonathan kept mumbling. "Jonathan!" she yelled louder. "None of this is real! Jonathan, I promise you, this isn't real!" He still shook, but had stopped mumbling. She prayed he could somehow hear her. In her peripheral vision she saw something. She whipped her head away from Jonathan and back at the ghosts. Continuing their unearthly chant, they began to walk. Right towards them.


	14. Chapter 13

**Hello! Got a little shorty for you all today :) Hope you like it!**

**Quick shout out to my amazing sister BeyondTheClouds777 who recommended me to her readers in one of her ANs recently. By the way, if you're here by her recommendation, to clear things up I am NOT more awesome than she is. That's just her trying to be all modest. Hehehe. But yeah, I would recommend you all to check out some of her stuff. She's a good writer. And will ruin your lives. But you'll be happy about it. :) And BTC777, if you're reading this, I didn't mean a word of it. XD**

**Shout Outs:**

**Jesusfreak: Hm, I had forgotten about that part. Divergent popped into my head when I was writing that, so yeah. Fiction is so psychological now a days. :P**

**WinterKnight2104: Yeah, internet can be a pain sometimes. Especially when you have fanfictions to update. Sorry about that cliffhanger btw. :)**

The ghostly apparitions moved closer. And closer.

Elsa was convinced that none of it was real. But why did it have to seem like it was? Fear gripped her in spite of her conviction. She continued to talk to Jonathan, trying to comfort and maybe even wake him from his shock as they moved closer. The ghosts closed in around them in a tight circle. Just ten feet.

Then they were gone.

That was it. They were there one minute, gone the next. Elsa was so surprised she didn't feel anything for a moment, expecting them to come back suddenly. But a moment later Jonathan opened his eyes. Then the relief rushed through Elsa. She knew it couldn't be the end, that something else had to be coming, but for a moment she allowed the elation to run through her. It was so blissful she felt like she was floating. She helped Jonathan up with a hand while he continued to shake. It took him a moment to get his footing, but when he did, Elsa did something she hadn't done to anyone for many years.

She hugged him.

After a moment his body stopped shaking as she embraced him. She fought down her powers that wanted to explode with the amount of relief she felt. Then, as she knew it would, that moment ended.

A loud, vicious, familiar snarl sounded to her right. She pulled away from Jonathan to get a look. Standing on the edge of the ruins was a werewolf. Then she noticed that all around her were werewolves, growling and snarling at them. Elsa didn't feel the terror she had felt days ago when she had encountered them. After that experience, she wasn't sure she'd feel terror ever again. But she realized that they were hopelessly outnumbered against the pack of two dozen poisonous, giant wolves.

Then, out of the darkness on the far side of the ruins, a figure seemed to materialize out of the darkness. He was extremely tall, nine to ten feet. A bow was slung over his shoulder and he held a sword that dripped a sickly looking liquid that made the ground sizzle whenever it dripped. On his back was a quiver of giant arrows. He wore nothing but animal skins. His eyebrows were bushy, as was his beard. His eyes were bright, fluorescent yellow. His hair fell from his head in brown dreadlocks and his ears pointed up, just like those of his wolf companions. Elsa knew who it was before he even spoke. The Hunter.

"Ah, the young snow queen." He said in a growl. He made a noise that must have been a chuckle. He sank to his knees in a mock bow. "I should have known you'd be strong enough to see through it. I was curious. I must say I'm impressed. Only the strongest of heart can see through that kind of magic."

He gestured with a finger towards Jonathan. His fingernails curled into claws. "Obviously you are stronger than he. Well, now that that's over, I've been given orders to take you alive back to my Master. I trust you won't resist." His wolf brothers growled on cue. Elsa swallowed, then had a thought. She attempted to gather a snowstorm. Clouds gathered in the sky and covered the moon. Elsa hoped it would work. She was terribly wrong.

The wolves began to change dramatically. The winced and yelped, then stood up on their hind legs. As Elsa looked their claws changed into hands and feet. Their pointed noses turned to faces. They wore nothing but thick black fur from their legs up their chests, covering parts of their bodies that...Elsa wasn't too interested in seeing.

By the time the transformation was complete two dozen seven foot men stood around them in a circle. The Hunter barked a wolfy laugh. "A nice try, young one, but you'll find my men are just as vicious in man-form as in wolf-form." His lips curled in either a smile or a snarl. Elsa couldn't tell which. "You need not fight, Elsa. My Master doesn't wish you any harm. Just come with us and you will live."

Now Elsa laughed. "Why should I believe that?"

"My Master is an honest man," he explained. "If he wanted you dead, he would have let me kill you. He simply wanted me to push you in his direction. Now please, Elsa, don't make this difficult on yourself." Elsa smiled. Not a chance.

She drew her ice sword from mid air. All the wolf-men snarled in unison. Jonathan, still looking terrible, looked at her sword. A spark lit up in his eyes. He closed them and a moment later a blade of electricity extended from his hand. He gave Elsa a weak smile. Elsa had no idea how they were going to get out of this one, but somehow, she knew, they would. Somehow. Or they would die trying.

The Hunter pointed at them with a disgusted look on his face. Then again every face he made looked disgusted. And the wolf-men charged.

The next ten minutes were a blur. All twenty of the men charged at once. Elsa fought vigorously, slashing and cutting at each one as they came close, but all that ever happened was a small yelp, then they were back in the game, seemingly unaffected. Elsa continued to fight, consciously avoiding their claws. If the Master really wanted her alive she wouldn't have to worry about their teeth, but their claws were still a threat. She put all her energy into the fight, but didn't seem to be gaining any ground. The pack leader stood in the same place he had been when the fighting began, watching silently. Jonathan was giving it his best shot as well, electrocuting wolves who came close, but seemed to be having the same problem Elsa was.

She had had enough. "Jonathan!" she yelled. "Get back!" He obeyed, scrambling backwards, and she released a huge blast of ice. It covered all of the wolves instantly. She worked to constrict the ice, cutting off their life force, but she kept meeting unbelievable resistance. Still she persisted, fighting to kill the beasts. She put every last ounce of willpower into her task until, all at once, the pillars of ice burst and the wolf-men stormed out, looking completely unaffected.

The Hunter laughed. "You thought it would be so easy? My men are immortal. They heal as soon as they are injured. You cannot win this fight, Elsa." Elsa felt the fear rising in her, but she didn't stop. Couldn't stop. Wouldn't stop. She stepped back into the battle full force, fighting against immortality, and gaining literally no ground at all.

Every yelp of pain ended as quickly as it had started. The cuts she made on their skin sewed back together instantly by an invisible force. Jonathan was back in the game now as well, fighting to hold his ground, but was growing tired quickly. Elsa jumped over to where he was fighting and they went back to back, pushing off their attackers one by one, but there would have been too many to defeat even if they _weren't _immortal. They were fighting a pointless war. Elsa knew it would continue until she was tired out, then they would be forced to go to wherever they planned to take them. Or maybe they would just kill them and get it over with.

Elsa began to wear down. They only had one last hope left, and Jonathan took it. A bolt of lightning shot down towards them. Elsa covered her ears and jumped as far away as she could get as it hit. The sound made her deaf again. She looked up, trying to see the damage. The wolf-men had terribly ugly wounds, but they had already begun to heal. Elsa's heart sank. Jonathan would be exhausted now. She wasn't far behind him. It was over.

In the back of her mind, something made recognition. No one was immortal. Everyone had a weakness. That was just a fact. As Elsa got back into the war, she focused on the wolf-men's fighting style. People that were completely immortal fought recklessly. They almost fought like they were guarding something. As Elsa fought, she tried and tried to figure out what it was.

Then it came to her. It was so simple she wanted to hit herself. The new hope invigorated her. She waited for the right opportunity, waited for them to make a slip. It took several minutes, but finally, as if in slow motion, she saw her chance. She pulled her sword back and swung towards the neck of the closest wolf-man. His head came clean off. It fell to the ground, rolled a few feet, then stopped. His body fell just seconds later.

As one, every wolf-man howled. It was bizarre, to see men howl, but the sound of it was so sad and mournful it almost made Elsa feel guilty. Then came the worst howl of agony of them all, the one from the pack leader. The mourning went on for minutes as Elsa and Jonathan stood and watched.

The pack leader looked over to Elsa, snarled, and barked so loudly it almost made her go deaf again. "You haven't won yet, _snow queen." _He put as much hatred into his words as he could. "You haven't won yet!" He repeated, screaming. Then he jumped over the edge of the ruins, followed by his pack. Elsa took a series of deep breaths. It was over. It was over.

Jonathan fell to the ground, and a moment later, so did she.


	15. Chapter 14

**Hello! Welp, here it is!**

**Shout outs:**

**Jesusfreak: Hehehe, she was actually the first one to hear most of the ideas for this FF. I don't think I've told her the ending yet though. XD**

**BeyondTheClouds: OKAY, I meant it. Hahaha. :-D**

Elsa didn't have the strength to dream. So she just slept.

When she awoke, she was back in the place where she had fallen; the ruins. She sat up and rubbed her temples, trying to ignore the dull throbbing of blood rushing to her head. She looked around, expecting to see Werewolves, or, God forbid, ghosts, but saw nothing. When she was sure she was as safe as she could get in those days, she stood up and stretched. Her sore muscles ached as she did so. It was a pretty day. The snowfall had stopped, the sun had come out, making the entire valley below the mountain sparkle and shine.

Elsa took a deep breath. Her next concern was Jonathan. She turned in a circle and saw him laying in what looked like a very uncomfortable position, sleeping like a baby. Elsa smiled, but she was worried for him. She didn't know who he had seen, but she was afraid he would never recover. She remembered that while she had realized none of it was real, he had not, and no matter how hard he tried, he may never believe it.

Elsa sat against one of the pillars, opened her pack, and ate a small breakfast. Just an apple and a biscuit. And then she waited patiently for Jonathan to wake up. She couldn't imagine awaking him after such a night.

Finally, he began to stir. Elsa sat up straighter. As she expected, his legs were completely asleep, and he had started rubbing them even before he had woken up entirely. When he did, he looked over at Elsa and tried in a pathetic attempt to smile before scooting over towards her, his legs still numb. He rested his back on the pillar right next to her and sat there silently. Elsa was glad that he wasn't the type that felt the need to make conversation. That he could just enjoy the silence.

Eventually, though, he spoke. "How are you?" he croaked, his voice obviously injured from all the screaming the previous night.

She shrugged. "I'm alive. That's all that counts, right?"

He nodded sadly. "Elsa," he started, "how do you know none of it was real?"

She thought it was weird how he asked, almost as if he doubted her. "Well that was kind of obvious, wasn't it?"

"You're positive none of it was real?" he said quietly, but somehow very firmly.

"Yes. I promise you, none of it was real."

He nodded again. "How did you know?"

She shrugged again. "I don't know. It just sort of...happened. I looked around and just knew."

He sniffed. "But Elsa..." He shook his head. "It _was _real. You don't..." Elsa didn't say anything. She would just let him talk. She would listen. She always wanted someone who would just listen to her. Now it was time for her to be that person.

A tear slid down his cheek. "I saw my mom, Elsa." he said, finally breaking. His voice broke in sobs. "She was right _there._The wound that I gave her...the one that..." He sobbed again. "It was _right. There. _It _was real."_ He pulled his knees up to his chest and buried his head in them. "And not just her." He was barely understandable now. "All my friends. My relatives. My..." He swallowed and sobbed again. "Serzen. My mentor. He was..."

Elsa didn't understand that part. His mentor? That didn't make sense. The people Elsa saw were only people she had killed. And so far it sounded the same for Jonathan. So how could he have seen...

_Oh. _

Elsa felt a new kind of compassion for Jonathan at that moment. She had lost both of her parents, but she hadn't killed them. Jonathan had accidentally killed his mother and the man that became the father he never had. She had killed hundreds of soldiers, but the guilt of that could never compare to the guilt of killing your own family. Elsa wasn't sure how he survived day to day. Putting on that goofy smile and making sarcastic jokes, when deep down he was forced to live with that kind of guilt. Elsa didn't know what she could possibly do to comfort him. She thought back on those horrid days trapped in her room. The one thing she desired more than anything else but didn't allow herself to have. After fighting her powers back inside of her, she wrapped her arm around his shoulder. It was a small affection, but it was one she was sure he would understand.

He looked up at her, his eyes red and glassy. Elsa wished there was more she could do to comfort him, but somehow, she felt that that was enough. And they just sat there together in the stillness.

As much as she hated it, Elsa knew they had to get moving again. To where, she had no idea, but they couldn't stay among those cursed ruins any longer. Elsa stood up and started to look around. She couldn't see any path besides the one they had come from.

Jonathan was by her side in a moment. "Maybe we should try that trick the wolves did," he said, "just jump over."

Elsa tried to chuckle but just wasn't feeling it. Then she found it. It was a tiny, tiny path, barely noticeable, but was definitely a path, demonstrated by the footprints and...wolf-prints.

"Think this is the way they came?" Jonathan asked, the disbelief present in his voice.

Elsa shrugged. "They had to come from somewhere. I doubt they just scaled the mountain."

Jonathan nodded but still didn't look convinced. "Well, the tracks are fresh, so I guess it's our best bet. So what's the plan?"

"Same as it's always been. Get information. Then we can worry about what to do with it. I _don't _plan on turning myself in to whoever this master guy is."

"I couldn't agree more." he answered, and they started walking up the tiny path.

It was extremely small, just wide enough for their feet, but as they rounded a turn it got much wider, enough for them to walk side by side. The path continued in a steady upwards direction, and was smooth and easy to travel. Neither said anything as they walked.

By nightfall they had covered quite some distance but in reality had no idea where they were going. So up and up they went.

Finally, they stopped for the night. After a quick dinner they both fell asleep.

Elsa was awakened in the middle of night. Her eyes flew open and she stood up in a flash, prepared for a fight. Ice stretched out on the ground from her feet and ice daggers formed in her hands. Off to her left she heard a low snarl, but not that of a wolf's. It had to be a werewolf, but if it was, why hadn't it attacked? Then she recognized the pitch and tone. Daggers still in hand, she moved closer to the sound.

She walked quite a ways away from their camp. When she turned a corner, there he was. The Hunter himself in man-form, leaning up against a large rock. "Took you long enough," he grumbled in his deep wolf-voice. "I have no weapons. I just wanted to...chat."

Elsa laughed quietly. She knew she should wake Jonathan, but she had a feeling that it would just complicate things. Besides, it was obvious he wanted to speak to her. "You could crush me in your fist without a problem. I'm not terribly comforted."

He made that odd sound again that must have been a laugh. "You are wise for one of your age. You would have made a good Queen."

"Um, thank you." She said, annoyed at how long the conversation was taking to begin.

"My Master wants you brought to him alive." He looked down. "Personally, if it were up to me, I'd kill you right now."

"I get that a lot."

A look of anger flashed in his eyes but vanished a moment later. "I might still kill you. But he wants you alive and asked me to personally reassure you that he means you no harm."

She barked a bitter laugh. "Yeah, right. Why should I trust him?"

"Well, for starters he _is _the one who created you. You're his greatest creation. Why should he harm you?" Elsa bit her lip. So this Master was really the one. The one who had given her the curse. "Oh, there's an added bonus as well." Wolf-man continued. "I personally don't like your partner. He's a weakling. Wasn't able to see through-"

"How did that even happen?" she asked before he could stop herself.

He waved her off. "Doesn't matter. We kill his kind, you know, anyone stupid enough to trek into my mountain. You see, I've been given orders to bring _you _to the Master alive. Not your friend." Elsa swallowed. "So here's my deal. If you turn yourself in by tomorrow night to his Highness, I will spare your friend."

Elsa laughed, trying to make it sound convincing. "If that's so, why haven't you killed him yet?"

"I've had plenty of opportunities." he explained. "I've been watching you two sleep for hours now. You could both be dead. But I wanted to maybe present a deal that would benefit both of us."

"What makes you think I care for his life?" She spat.

His lip curled in a develish smile. "Oh, I know you do. And so do you." He stood up straight. "You have until this time tomorrow, or he dies. I promise you, I will not show him mercy."

Before she could say anything else he bounded off at a remarkable speed up the path.

Elsa sped back to the campsite, her mind spinning. This was a turn she hadn't expected but knew she should have far earlier. She and Jonathan had made a great team so far, but really, how long could it have lasted? She was the one the Master wanted. Jonathan would have just gotten in his way. But now she was faced with a predicament; leave Jonathan and turn herself in, or stay with him and have him killed. The answer was obvious. She already knew what she would do. She hardly knew the man but already felt more compassion for him and related to him better than she had with anyone. Despite all the blood already on her hands, she couldn't add his to the group. Not his. She hardly knew him, but she cared for him too much to let that happen.

She decided to wait until the next evening when he would be sleeping soundly-it was nearly morning by the looks of the sky-and then begin her trek alone up the mountain. She knew it was the right thing, but hated the thought of leaving him. Of being without him. She nearly laughed at the irony. A week ago she would have been happy to scale the mountain alone with nothing but her thoughts for company. What had changed?

Elsa sat at their campsite, unable to go back to sleep, as it was kind of pointless. So she sat and waited for Jonathan to wake up, tapping her fingers on her leg nervously. She felt her powers fighting for the fresh air. She tried to stuff them back down inside her, once again. It was so tiring. It was odd that she remembered it right then at that moment, but something Jonathan had told her came back. That it was impossible to control your powers, you just have to use them for something good. It was a pleasant thought, one that Elsa hardly put much hope in, but it was worth a shot. What was good that Elsa could create?

Then she had it. It hurt her, brought back old, sad, dark memories, but maybe it would do the trick. She channeled her nervous energy into her powers and let them flow out, trying to direct the snowflakes as they swirled from her hands. With them she created a large ball, then a smaller one on top of that, then yet an even smaller one on top of that. It was small, only about half her size even though she could have made a much larger one, but somehow it felt right. It was strange that a snowman should have qualities like right and wrong assigned to it's height, but it just did. She regretted that she didn't have a carrot on hand so picked up a few cold embers from the fireplace, walked over to the snowman, and made a face from the rocks. Pleased with her work, and feeling much better, she sat back down, just before Jonathan woke up and brought her back to reality. A pang of fear and guilt twisted her gut. She was hating what she was going to have to do more and more.

He yawned. When he saw the snowman he raised an eyebrow. "Got bored I guess." Elsa explained, hoping her voice didn't give anything away. After breakfast they packed up their few belongings and, once again, were on the road. Elsa took one last look and, unless her eyes were playing tricks on her, she thought the snowman was waving to her.

A few hours of silence later, Jonathan looked at her oddly. "You okay?" he asked.

She shrugged, then lied. "I'm fine, why?"

"I don't know, your face was kind of...scrunchy."

She wanted to laugh but couldn't bring herself to do it. "'Scrunchy?'" She repeated.

"You know, your eyebrows knitted together, jaw set, nose...scrunchy."

"Just lost in thought I guess." She tried to cover. He nodded and didn't say anything else until they had set up their camp for the night.

When Jonathan was fast asleep, Elsa made her move. She gathered up the contents of her pack, slung it over her shoulder, and started walking, taking a final look at Jonathan as she left, realizing it may be her last look at him. He just slept there, so peacefully, like he didn't carry the guilt of countless accidental murders. Like he wasn't an outlaw. Like he didn't have all that pain underneath the shadow of sarcasm and that trademark smile. Elsa sighed and hated herself just a little bit more for leaving him. He would feel betrayed. Might even hate her, but she had no choice. She considered leaving a note but was afraid he would try to pursue her and stop her if he knew her intentions. He might pursue her anyway, but she couldn't take any risks. She turned away from him and started walking up the slope, fighting not to let the guilt consume her.

The farther she walked, the worse it felt. She never would have imagined caring for someone so much. Well, someone besides her sister. She continually fought the urge to run back, but kept reminding herself that she was saving his life. That was all that kept her going, one step at a time.

She walked up and up through the night, the crunch-crunch of the snow under her feet going with her. She let a small cyclone of snow swirl around her as she hiked. Dawn began to approach on the horizon, the sky brightening into a dark blue, slowly getting lighter by the second. Just as the sun peaked over the mountains in the distance, Elsa saw something. She caught her breath. She had wondered as she hiked where she was supposed to turn herself into. Now she knew.

Farther up the mountain sat a castle. A dark, practically black castle. The contrast to the pure whiteness of the snow was almost disturbing. Its towers reached far into the sky. The castle had no organization whatsoever. It looked like God had taken a mass of black rock, threw it to the earth, then hollowed it out and made it into a dwelling place. It looked at least as big as the castle at Arendelle. Maybe bigger.

Something about it radiated something dark. Elsa felt it, but was certain if any ordinary person was around they wouldn't have. Maybe it was the whole "strong enough to see through it" thing. Elsa didn't like it at all, but knew that it was her destination. So she swallowed her fear and kept walking up the path, right towards it.

It took her until the sun was high in the sky to get close. She rounded a corner in the path and up ahead was a straight stretch ending in a set of stairs, ending in twenty foot high black gates, two towers on either side, the only example of architecture she had seen so far. That nasty feeling got stronger with every step. The castle looked even larger up close, more intimidating.

Two lions guarded the entrance on either side of the gates...at least they looked like lions, except that they were silver and at least twice as large. The sun glinted off their strange metal backs. As she approached, they snarled at her, jumped off their platforms, down the steps and right towards her. She reminded herself not to resist, that she wa surrendering, but couldn't hide her fear that this was all a trap and that they would just rip her to pieces on sight. Still, laying her pride down, he knelt in front of them and lowered her head. She hated that she had been reduced to this. Surrender was a difficult thing.

She felt a lion sniff her head, then took a step away and roared with surprising intensity. A few moments later, the gates opened. Elsa looked up and saw...strange men come out. If you could even call them men. Their faces were twisted in hideous ways. Their ears were pointed but stuck out to the sides at odd angles. Their eyes were orange and their crooked teeth yellow. The were very dirty and very disgusting. Some were tall, some were short. They all carried weapons by their sides. One of the taller ones walked right up to her. The lions sat at her sides, guarding her. The creature's breath was putrid as he stood right above her head. She made an effort not to gag. Might send the wrong message.

"Queen Elsa," he said in a gurgling voice, "we've been expecting you. Rise." Elsa did as she was told and stood up, now standing face to face with the hideous being. He had a huge boil on one side of his face that oozed pus. "Follow me." Then he turned around and started walking. Again, she did as she was ordered. Two shorter ones walked by her side as they marched up the stairs and into the castle. The creatures stunk of a body odor more putrid than anything she had ever smelled.

The inside of the castle was huge, although, once again, had no organization at all. Huge pieces of rock hung from the ceiling...if you could call it that, considering it was uneven and rose and fell at different places. The walls did the same, leaning in and out of the crudely chiseled rock, which she was sure it was now.

They steered her into a crooked stone door, into another hallway, then into another door, into another hallway. How they found their way in that castle she had no idea. Finally they walked into a door and into a room that was even cruder than the halls. There was no furniture except for a small blanket. One of the creatures pushed her inside. She fell to the floor in a heap.

"The room is protected with deep spells," the tall one explained. "It would be...unwise to attempt to escape." And with that, he turned and walked out, along with his group. All except one of the small ones, who walked right up to her, a hideous, mocking smile on his face. She wanted so badly to call a dagger from within herself and kill him, but knew that it would be a bad idea.

He bowed mockingly. "Queen Elsa," he said with a high pitched, ugly voice. Without warning he struck her on the cheek with force she didn't think a creature like him could possibly posses. Pain erupted in the side of her face as she fell to the ground. Blood streamed from her nose, and she felt a spot on her cheek where the skin had broken against his stone knuckles. "You are nothing," he said wickedly. He turned away and out the door. Elsa lay on her side in pain, wishing it could all just be over.


	16. Chapter 15

**...And the plot thickens.**

**Mwahaha I just *love* plot twists. XD Hope you guys enjoy the chapter! Things are about to get juicy.**

**Shout Outs:**

**Jesusfreak: XD That gave me a good laugh. Wasn't what I had in mind, but it works I guess! :P**

Elsa wasn't sure how much time had passed, but it must have been at least a few hours. She longed for sleep but couldn't find it. As she began to lose hope, the doors swung open and the same small creature walked in and threw her some fresh clothes. She couldn't help but be thankful, considering how wet and filthy hers were. She looked up at the creature, wishing he would at least leave while she dressed, but didn't expect him to. She was right. Despite the humiliation, Elsa knew that she had no choice, unless she wanted another beating, which she really didn't. So she dressed right in front of him. When she was finished, he left, and returned a minute later with a small bowl of water. "Wash up." He ordered. "The Master will see you shortly." Despite everything she had been through, her body filled with nervous excitement. She was about to meet the man who had cursed her. At long last, maybe she would get some answers. Find out who she really was.

After washing the blood off her face, she stood up. The clothes she had been given were itchy, but she didn't mind much. The creature held up shackles and began to lock her hands behind her back. She actually laughed. "Seriously?" was all she could say. She had turned herself in, and they were going to chain her?

"Keep your mouth shut," he ordered. "Follow me." She did, out of the room and eventually back into the main hallway.

They walked down the extremely long hallway until her feet were sore. More creatures joined the group, including the tall one, who eyed her nervously. She couldn't understand why, though. Finally they reached another set of tall black gates at the very end of the hallway. The tall one pulled them open. Inside was what looked like the only real room in the castle. It had an even ceiling, neat furniture, a fireplace, and several large windows reaching from the floor to the thirty foot high ceiling, looking out on the valley. Standing in front of one of those windows stood a lone figure.

He turned to face her. He was very tall, his hair was jet black. He was clean shaven and had angular features, like a cat. He wore black clothes and a dark trench coat. His face erupted in a smile that almost looked genuine. Elsa didn't trust it though.

"Elsa," he greeted, spreading his hands apart, "welcome!" Elsa didn't say anything. As he took a closer look his smile faded. His eyes flashed in a look of hot anger so quickly Elsa wasn't sure what had even happened.

"You're injured," he growled, his voice deeper than it had been a second ago. "Which one of you dared touch the one I ordered to be well taken care of?!" He screamed. No one stepped forward from the group of guards. A moment later the small one appeared at the front of the crowd, although he wasn't himself. His eyes were focused on some point above the man, almost like he was hypnotized. He came out of his trance and the mysterious man stared at him in a look so full of hatred it made Elsa cringe in fear. "You would _dare?!" _He screamed.

A moment later the small one began to cough. He coughed in heavy spasms, then fell to his knees, clutching his throat. Then he vomited in huge amouts, coughing up all the contents in his stomach, then started coughing up pink fluids that made Elsa feel nausiated herself. She closed her eyes for the rest. A moment later the coughing and vommiting stopped and she risked a look, seeing the lifeless figure in a pool of his own vomit. And the smell...their body odor was nothing compared to that stench.

"And _you." _The man yelled at the tall one. "You couldn't keep your guard under control for _four hours?" _

The tall one cowered, then something in his eyes changed. He grabbed his head and screamed, running out of the castle while yelling unintelligible things. The man pointed to another of the creatures. "You," he ordered, "you are in charge of the guard for two weeks until he comes out of his mania. Learn from his example. I trust you won't let it happen again." The creature nodded solemnly. The man gestured to the dead one on the floor. "Clean this abomination up, then leave us."

As the creatures moved in to work, the man's countenance softened a bit, although was replaced by a look of concern. He guested with a hand towards one of the couches near the fireplace. One of the creatures undid Elsa's shackles. She rubbed her wrists and followed the man. When she reached the couch, he motioned for her to sit. When she had, he knelt in front of her and placed a hand on her face. She recoiled at first, but then allowed it, realizing she couldn't resist. His fingers were smooth. There was a little tingling sensation in her cheek. When he pulled away and stood, Elsa felt her face. There was no bruise, no soreness, no wound. It was perfectly smooth. She looked at him in part shock, part awe at the sheer power.

"My most sincere of apologies, Queen Elsa." he said, his face back to it's original countenance. "I ordered all of my servants before hand not to lay a hand on you. Goblins can be a bit...unruly though." Goblins. So that's what they were. "But anywho, they are under a curse to serve me, and it's hard to find loyal servants these days. Please, forgive me." Elsa didn't respond. He stared at her, then smirked. "You don't talk? Very well, then. I suppose I should do all the talking. However keep in mind that if you have any questions, feel free to ask. I will answer any questions you have, that I promise." Elsa still didn't respond, but kept that in mind.

"Anyways, I have been very much wanting to meet you, Elsa. As I'm sure you've figured out by now, I am the one who cursed you and gave you your gift. I must admit, I have been around for many many years and have never created something as great as you. My greatest curse turned into my greatest creation." He smiled and leaned in. "You are my masterpiece, Elsa. Why should I wish to harm you? My intentions are pure, I assure you. I simply wish to give you the thing you desire most. Answers." Elsa tried to keep a straight face, but she was desperate now. She needed those answers. "I'll start from the beginning, I suppose. Once upon a time-such a lame beginning, don't you agree? Once upon a time, upon what time? Well, I suppose twenty eight years ago. Once upon twenty eight years ago, there were two brothers and a father, who just happened to be a king. As you well know, traditionally, when a king dies the older of his sons takes the throne. However, in a special case, the king may make a decree where the younger is given the throne. This king knew he was nearing his death and was going to bless the older brother. The younger one hated and despised his older brother since they were young, and the thought of him taking the throne was a terrible thing to him. So he came to a very powerful sorcerer, the most powerful in the land, and asked for his help. The king was old, the brother explained to the sorcerer, and one as powerful as he could change his mind easily. Normally this sorcerer didn't bother with these trivial things, but on that day, he did. He agreed to alter the king's decision and only asked one thing in return; the death of the younger's first born child. It was a small thing to this younger brother, of course. He simply thought, 'Very well then, I will never marry!' The young fool that he was. So they struck a bargain. He became king, his older brother was banished, and the sorcerer went back to his normal duties.

"Now for several years, in fact, he stayed true to his promise to never marry. However, as is obvious, in time he began to favor a young woman who, as the story goes, became his wife. She softened him from the power hungry man he was to a kind, generous ruler. Then she gave him the news that she was expecting. Naturally he panicked, but knew all along he wouldn't have the strength to do what he would need to do. So when the child was born, he spared her. It was a her, of course, as I'm sure you've guessed at this point. The sorcerer, furious with the king's broken promise, cursed the girl shortly after her birth. He put more power and energy into this curse than he ever had with any other, knowing that the torture of having to deal with a child with supernatural abilities would be torture enough for the king." The man leaned back and caught his breath. "Moral of the story? Don't be a heartless bastard."

Elsa didn't know how to respond. She'd aways wanted to know the truth, but wasn't prepared for that. Her father, the kind, warm man she knew, had at one time promised to kill her? In return for the crown? It was too much to process at once. He must be lying. He must.

"That's impossible," she said quietly.

"Ah, so you do speak." he replied, smiling.

"That's impossible, you can't be more than thirty years old! There's no way you could-"

"Looks can be deceiving, Elsa." he explained, pronouncing each word so carefully and perfectly it was almost unnerving. "The thing about birth sorcerers is this; they are immortal. I am well along in years although I don't look it."

Elsa shook her head as she felt her eyes watering up. All the stress of the last few days, all the anxiety, all the pain, and then she gets this dumped on her. She should have prepared herself better for whatever the truth was. "Did you...did you..." she choked on the words. "Did I kill your parents?" she finished.

"No, actually. I would have kept them alive for much longer but unfortunately, fate has a mind of it's own. Something even I, The Master sorcerer, cannot control." Elsa wiped her eyes, trying to regain her composure. "Just look at you. Fate obviously had other plans for you. You were created a curse, a burden, but you've become something far greater. Just look at you." She looked up, and he just sat there. Smiling at her. Almost like he was proud of her. Elsa knew she should have felt anger. She should have wanted to gut him out. But she didn't. She felt sad, but even that seemed to be fading. There was a peace, somehow. A peace of finally knowing the truth. Years of wandering, wondering who she really was. Now she knew.

"You and I are a lot alike, you know." he said quietly.

Elsa laughed bitterly. "We are _not _alike."

"Sure we are," he said. "We're both sorcerers. We both were exiled from our nations, both outcasts, the ones nobody loves. We're both children of chaos, we destroy everything we touch. We can fight all of our lives to control our powers but in the end, we will still destroy everything we get near. Because that is what we are, Elsa. Children of chaos. It's our human nature, we can't stop it." Elsa swallowed, because she knew he was right. They were more alike than she thought. And she hated herself for it. Because she already hated him, no matter how sincere he seemed.

"I am sorry to dump all this on you considering...well." He said, looking away.

Elsa wasn't sure what he meant. Was he talking about the last few days? His voice made it seem like something different, deeper, sadder. "I-I'm sorry?" she stuttered.

A look of pure pity overtook his face. He looked so genuine she wanted to believe it was real. Until she remembered what he had done to her parents. "You don't know, do you, child?"

"Don't know what?" Elsa pressed. She hated the suspense. What could possibly be wrong?

"Your sister, Anna. She's...terribly sick. I thought you would know."

Elsa's heart sank. "Wait, how do you know?"

"I keep a wary eye on Arendelle. Surely you had to wonder why she put Hans in place as steward."

Time seemed to stop just then. Elsa heard nothing but the sound of her heavy, panicked breathing. Anna...Anna...Anna...

The gates to the chamber opened on their own accord. "Go to her." The Master said quietly.

She stared at him in disbelief. "You're just going to let me go?" she asked, the panic obvious in her voice.

"Of course. I truly only wanted to chat, give you answers. I had hoped to spend more time with you, but alas. Go to your sister. You may only get this one chance."

She stared at him for a moment, then took off running. She ran full speed out of the room, down the long, long hallway. Goblins turned to look at her as she passed, but they didn't try to stop her. She ran outside. The lions on either side of the gate stayed still on their places as she ran down the steps and started down the slope. She would run for days if she had to. She would run until her chest was full of cramps and she had destroyed the muscle in both her legs. Then she would keep running. She didn't care how long it had taken to make it to where she was, she would go all the way back. She wouldn't stop running until she got to Arendelle. Only one thought pulsed through her mind.

_Anna...Anna...Anna..._

Late in the day, as she rounded a corner, she nearly ran into Jonathan. They stopped and stared at each other, the path not wide enough here for her to run around him.

Jonathan's face contorted with surprise and anger. He stuttered for a moment. "What...what the hell, Elsa?!" he yelled at last.

"Jonathan," she said, eager to get running again. She was wasting precious time. "We don't have time for this."

"You just left me!" he yelled at her. "Do you have any idea how worried I was? What were you thinking?" Only then did he seem to realize how upset she was. His face softened with a look of concern.

"What happened?" he said so quietly he almost whispered it.

"We have to run. Now."

"Where?!" he yelled again.

"Back to Arendelle. I'll explain on the way."

"Elsa-" he started, but she cut him off.

"Jonathan, we don't _have time for this!" _

Jonathan stared at her, obviously still angry, but nodded. He took off running with Elsa right behind him.

"Start talking." he ordered.


	17. Chapter 16

**Hello again! Sorry for my delay in updating over the holidays. Hope you all had a good one, filled with lots of egg nog, yummy food and Christmas joy. :-) Anywhos, here's the next chapter. Back to Arendelle we go!**

Everything had been going great. That is, until the real war began.

Kris and his new friends had done the impossible, and it had worked. The entire town knew about the rebellion now, and recruits were coming in by the minute. Of course, they had to be very careful. All their identities were still secret to the government, so when they recruited they had to do so carefully, being sure that whoever they were recruiting really wanted to join the rebellion, and making sure to take care of their business when no one else was around to hear, but it had worked.

The first thing that Kris and Al had organized were small rebel communities of about fifteen people each that met in separate homes every other evening. This way they wouldn't be found out by gathering everyone involved in the same place. Each of the leaders of the rebel communities reported directly to Al, who was now considered the leader of the rebellion. Their focus for the next few days was gathering intel and forming a strategy. Kris thought it was taking way too long. They needed to hurry before the soldiers Hans had sent after Elsa returned. When that happened the situation will have gone from bad to worse.

Hans had already been making efforts to stop the rebel communities from contacting each other. He issued an early curfew, ordering that anyone seen outside their home during this time would be killed on sight. However with his low resources this wasn't inforced well and the rebels still met, although Kris knew they would only be able to do so for so long. He pestered Al every evening about the need to finalize their strategy, but he seemed content to take as long as possible on it, hoping to finalize it into a perfect plan. The memory and guilt of the volley of arrows that had been shot at innocent civilians still weighed heavily on Kris. If they waited too long, who knows what evils Hans was capable of.

And if that weren't enough, during the gathering, Hans had explained that Anna had requested that he take the role of the ruler of Arendelle, once and for all. In two weeks, Hans would be crowned king. Then nothing could stop him.

Then it happened. Early one morning, as Kris was just waking up, a bugle sounded out on the street. Something was going on. He dressed in a flash and rushed into the living room where Al was putting on a coat, cursing and swearing every other word.

"What's happened?" Kris asked cautiously.

Al looked at him and said gravely, "We've run out of time." Then he stormed out the door. Kris had no idea what he meant, but followed him, worry coursing through his mind.

The entire town had gathered near the castle, where a wooden platform had been set up. Kris' mind processed what it was before he reached it. He swore harshly and ran towards it.

In the crowd he noticed other rebellion leaders and men who nodded towards him. As he reached the platform, with a sickening realization, he saw that he had been right. Someone had been found out. And they were going to hang him, right there, in front of the entire city. Kris wanted to badly to push though the crowd, but didn't want to look suspicious, so he waited among the throng. He was taller than most, so could see the platform perfectly. He tried to stop his hands from shaking. Who had been captured?

A soldier, the captain of the guard, Kris believed, walked up and onto the platform. "Good people of Arendelle," he began, silencing the crowd, "our steward has a message for the city. This week we have seen that there are some in Arendelle who wish to abolish peace and order, and in turn will have war and hate. Let this man, one of the rebel dogs, be an example to the people and a warning to the rebels of how we will tolerate those who ask for war." To the left, two soldiers walked a man up the platform. Kris took in a breath. He didn't recognize him at all.

Somewhere to the left, a woman screamed desperately, but Kris was too in shock to notice. The man was dragged up to the platform. He had a look of terror in his eyes, but didn't resist. Kris couldn't believe it. This man was about to die innocently, but accepted his fate anyway.

A noose was hung around his neck. Kris desperately wanted to yell for them to stop, to rush the soldiers and try to save the man, but knew he couldn't risk the entire rebellion. So he watched in horror as his crimes were read-plotting against the government of Arendelle-and the level was pulled. It stopped with a thunk. The man squirmed for a few seconds, then was still.

The woman's screams grew louder. All Kris could do was stare. He wanted to run, wanted to do anything, but couldn't raise suspicions. He was numbly aware of the captain dismissing the people, but Kris couldn't do anything for a time. When most of the people had dispersed, Kris took off running full speed back to Al's house. Most of the people in the crowd would be surprised. Shocked, maybe. But none would be as shocked as Kris was in that moment, because he knew the truth.

He burst through the door, into the bathroom and threw up. He wandered back into the living room, trying to wrap his mind around the whole thing. Al came in shortly behind him.

Kris opened his mouth but could hardly speak. "That-that man, he-" Kris shook his head.

"No, he wasn't." Al finished.

"This is..." Kris mumbled, but couldn't find a word to express what it really was. Then he exploded. "Al, that was an innocent man. _Innocent. _He probably never dreamed of joining the rebellion! How could we have let this happen?"

"We ran out of time Kris. Nothing we could have done could have stopped this. Now it's time to strike."

Kris laughed. He actually laughed. "We couldn't have struck like, _yesterday? _That would have done the trick, wouldn't it?"

"Kris, look around you!" Al said harshly. "Hans is murdering innocent people trying to get us to do something stupid. This would have happened no matter what time we struck and it won't end even after we strike. It won't end until one side surrenders."

"Then maybe we're doing the wrong-"

"Don't think like that, man!" Al whispered harshly. "If we don't do this _everyone _dies. Period. This is our only chance."

Kris looked down, trying to put it all together. "Do we have a strategy now?"

Al snorted. "Far from it. But what choice do we have?"

"You do realize we're doing exactly what he wants. He wants to flush us out."

Al looked out the window and nodded solemnly. "Yes, I know."

Kris thought in silence for a moment. "So what's the plan?"

That night, Kris and his group were ready for their part.

Kris still didn't understand why Al had put him in charge of an entire group, but he wasn't complaining. He'd do anything if it would help.

Himself, Ralph, Emma, and a few others crept along the walls of houses and shops after curfew. The moon was high in the sky. Their mission seemed simple at face value-all they had to do was capture a guard station-but Kris was being cautious anyway. There were five guard stations total on the outside of the city, just inside of the city walls. If they could take them, they could take part of the city. In theory.

Kris saw the guard shack up ahead through an alley. They didn't have much for weapons, just heavy items and rods mostly. All except for Ralph who had an ax, which, especially in the dim light, made him look like a psychotic maniac.

"Let's go over this again," Kris whispered. "We get in, handicap as many soldiers as possible, take their weapons, and keep the shack through the night. They might send soldiers to try to take it back, so we may have to fight more than once." Everyone nodded. "Alright then, let's go." They walked quietly towards the guard shack. Only one guard kept watch on the outside. Kris walked to the front side and caught him by surprise with a metal rod. The guard was out like a light. Kris nodded to the others, and they rushed inside.

It was completely empty. There were chairs, a wall where weapons were normally hanged completely empty, and that was it. Kris swore. He should have seen it coming. Of course Hans would know their first target would be the guard shacks! They had fallen into his trap hook line and sinker.

Then the roof caved in. Kris was pushed to the ground by the weight with the rest of his group. He felt heat on his skin, then smelled smoke. The entire guard shack was _on fire. _Kris fought to crawl out from under the flaming wood, stood, and helped the others do the same. He pulled his shirt up over his mouth and nose to help him breathe. He looked around. All the entrances were blocked by enormous flames. They only had one choice, or they would be consumed by the fire. Kris jumped out of the nearest doorway. Instantly he felt the raw heat on his skin. He fell into the snow and rolled around, groaning from the pain of the burns. The others followed after him. When he looked up, they were surrounded by Arendelle soldiers aiming their bows and swords right at them.

"Hands where we can see 'em!" One of them ordered.

Kris gingerly stood to his feet and raised his hands. He certainly wasn't planning on going with them, but it would have been stupid to try to get away now. The rest followed his lead. After confiscating their weapons, which Ralph wasn't too happy about, the guards tied rough ropes around their hands and led them off towards the city. Kris imagined the other groups doing the same thing they were. He set his mind in high gear, trying to find a way out.

Ten guards. Not too many. Six looked young, the other four veteran soldiers. One of the younger ones fingered his sword on his belt nervously to his right. He made a few calculations, making a map in his mind of his group in the center of the soldiers who surrounded them, and a plan began to form in his mind. Kris looked over his shoulder, trying to make eye contact with Ralph. When he did, he did his best to communicate his plan with his eyes. It was hard to tell if Ralph recognized any details besides that they were going to cause trouble, but he looked ready. Kris reared his elbow up above his head like he was going to hit the younger one. As he expected, the boy drew his sword instantly. Kris ducked as he swung with his eyes closed. Kris rammed into his side underneath the blade, knocking the sword out of his hands. Kris bent down and grabbed it in his hands behind his back. Kris saw a soldier coming for him, turned around and slashed at the guard. Behind him he heard the guard yell in pain, and turned back around. He was down with a good gash on his leg. Behind him, Ralph had accomplished the same thing, although probably by a different method. Ralph hopped over to Kris and chopped off his bonds. Kris returned the favor. Now two of them were armed, and four soldiers were down.

Kris slashed at another one, cutting him in the abdomen. He pulled the man's sword from his sheath as he fell and handed it to Emma, who joined the fight. Kris sensed another soldier coming up behind him. He turned and stabbed him in the chest before he could stop himself. Kris let go of the sword embedded in his chest in surprise. The man gasped for breath as blood spilled from the wound, then fell, then stopped breathing.

Everything stopped for Kris. He was dimly aware of Ralph and Emma finishing the soldiers, but couldn't bring himself to do anything. He had just killed a man. The thought seemed so absurd he almost was able to convince himself it hadn't happened. But no, he had watched the life fade from his eyes. He had killed him.

Ralph walked over and put a hand on his shoulder. "Kris! Kris, you alright man?" Kris couldn't speak. His mouth had gone dry. Ralph looked down and saw the man with the sword in his chest. He shook his head. "Kris we don't have time for this." Ralph forced his own sword into Kris' hand, then pulled the sword out of the dead soldier's wound. "Come on man, before more come!" Kris snapped out of his daze and followed the group as they ran off.

First order of business; find the other groups before they were taken to the castle. Once they're in the courtyard it will be impossible to free them. They had to beat them there. They ran as quietly as possible towards the castle, keeping an eye out for soldiers as they went. Finally, they saw another group. Al's. They cautiously walked to the side of a house as the group passed. Kris and his friends sprung from their hiding spot, taking the soldiers by surprise. They had all been cut down-one killed-in a few moments.

"Good timing," Al said as Kris chopped the ropes off his hands.

"Yeah, we kind of have a thing for that," Ralph remarked. "Other groups?"

Al shook his head. "Group four was captured. I think three and five got away."

"We better hurry then," Kris said, handing Al a sword. Then they rushed off in search of the next group.

They found them quickly. They took the same strategy they had before, hiding behind a building to take them by surprise. When they sprung from their hiding spot, they had succeeded, but things went wrong quickly.

Kris was about to stab a soldiers leg. He looked like one of the more experienced ones. Then a bright, red light flashed from somewhere behind him with force that knocked Kris on top of the soldier. Kris raised his fist while he was still stunned and gave the soldier a blow to the temple. He scrambled to his feet above the unconscious man and looked for the source of the blast. He looked in horror at one of Group 3 sprawling on the ground. Completely on fire.

Kris rushed over to him. The man screamed as he rolled over in the snow, trying to put out the flames that consumed his flesh. Finally, they dissipated. Kris, Al and another of Group Two rushed over to take a look at him. The burns were terrible, nearly all over his body; his arms, his face, his legs. He groaned in pain.

Kris looked up. "We need to get him somewhere. Fast."

Al pointed to two others. "Take him to my house, now. Kris, you and the others go look out for Group Four and Five, see if you can spot them. When you do meet us back behind my house. I have a new idea that might make up for this. The night isn't over yet."


	18. Chapter 17

**Sorry for the delay in updating! I know that last chapter was a bit of a cliffhanger too, so many apologies. BeyondTheClouds777 has been pushing me for an update for the last week now, so here it is! Good news is that now I have a lot written ahead so I should be able to go back to an update-a-day next week. To hold you over til then though I'm gonna post two today, so I hope you enjoy! :) As always, reviews are much appreciated, especially advice and/or constructive criticism. Peace out! ~E-Sharp**

"First things first. How the hell did he do that?" one of Group Three had said.

Fifteen minutes later they had gathered at Al's house. Kris knew they didn't have much time before whatever soldiers were left came after them.

"Doesn't matter right now," Al corrected. "Right now what we need to do is finish this. We've cleared out the guard shacks and now we have weapons. Since the guards cleared out the shacks aren't as strategic positions as we thought. What we need to do is make new groups of four to guard the four guard houses, although it probably isn't necessary. I doubt they're worries about the guard houses at this point." "So with our groups of four keeping watch over the guard houses, the rest of us have a bit of an adventure ahead of us. Isaac?" Isaac appeared from the back of the crowd. He had been with group three. "You got us covered?"

Isaac nodded. That guy's muscles said just about everything that had to be said.

"Great. Let's assign groups." Al pointed to people as he assigned them. Kris was chosen to go with Al and the "adventurers", as if that night hadn't already been adventure enough. Finally, Al assigned one to watch over the injured man and give him immediate medical attention, then motioned for the Adventurers to follow him. There were about twelve. Kris wasn't surprised that both Ralph and Emma were in the group. You couldn't exactly call a group Adventurers without those two.

Isaac and Al took the lead, heading north. They made it to the edge of the city wall. Earlier in the rebellion the soldiers had removed the ladders that went up to the top for patrols. Kris started to get an uneasy feeling about what they were about to do.

Al walked over to a small door in the wall on the right and tried to open it. It was locked and bolted. He walked back over to the group and nodded to Isaac.

Isaac pulled a rope from his backpack. Kris rolled his eyes. "Why is it always heights with you guys?" he groaned.

Ralph patted him on the shoulder mockingly. "Welcome to the Adventure club, blondie."

"I don't like the adventure club. What's wrong with the 'Stay on the Ground' club?"

"But that's no fun!" Ralph grinned like a psycho.

Isaac tied a grapple to the edge of the rope and threw it clear over the wall. Ralph whistled. "Well someones got some nice muscles."

Isaac grunted, then grabbed the rope and tested his weight on it. After he was satisfied that it was tight, he lifted himself off the ground, planted them on the side of the wall, and started scaling the wall.

"Wish I was that guy," Ralph remarked.

"_So _glad I'm not that guy." Kris laughed nervously.

When Isaac had made it to the top of the wall, Kris heard something behind them. He risked a look. More soldiers, who didn't look too happy...or too well.

"Uh...guys?" Kris looked back to the group. Ralph had already started up the wall, Emma right behind him. There wouldn't be enough time though.

"Keep moving!" Al ordered. "Kris, help me hold them off." Kris lifted his sword and prepared to fight.

A blast of heat exploded above him. Kris was knocked to the ground again. He gingerly tried to stand, ignoring the pain in his side as the soldiers drew dangerously close. The others weren't as quick to recover. From above, on top of the wall, two more ropes were dropped. "Hurry!" Isaac yelled.

Kris helped the others up, then grabbed onto one of the ropes and carefully pulled himself onto the wall, fighting the urge to look down. The rough rope hurt his hands, and he almost slipped several times, but he finally made it to the top, sweat rolling off his forehead. Soon only Al and another rebel whose name Kris couldn't recall still climbed. The soldiers stopped at the bottom of the wall. Then Kris noticed something odd. The soldiers were gathered in an odd formation, all standing around one soldier in the middle.

The soldier in the middle extended his right hand towards the other climber. Kris watched as hot, orange fire exploded from his hand and engulfed the rebel. He screamed and let go of his hold, and tumbled to the ground and landed in a heap, thrashing as the flames ate away at him. One of the soldiers pushed him into the snow with his foot to put out the flames, then tied a rope around his hand.

Al made it to the top and yelled "Duck!" Everyone did so just in time as the next fireball was hurled at the wall, then the next.

Kris grabbed Ralph and spoke in his ear. "The one in the center," he said, "the one they're guarding. He's the sorcerer."

Ralph nodded, then turned and spoke something in Emma's ear. Another explosion of fire went off. Instantly afterwards Emma rose with her sword, the blade pointing down, and then thrusted it downwards. Kris risked a look, crouching and looking over. She had hit the bull's-eye. The soldier in the middle Kris had pointed out now had a sword sticking out of his chest. The soldiers retreated, picking up their wounded friend and carrying him off, though to where Kris had no idea. He didn't think even the best doctors could heal a wound like that. Ralph gave Emma a high-five, but Kris wasn't feeling well. Something about the whole thing had put him on edge. Soldiers. Sorcerers. How they had carried him off...

"Kris, you alright buddy?" Ralph asked, putting a hand on his shoulder. Kris felt his heartbeat accelerate. He looked over to Al again, then jumped over the edge, hanging on to one of the ropes as he slid to the ground. Then he took off running.

In the dark he was just able to see the soldiers ahead, still carrying their fallen man. Kris snuck up behind them, being careful about his steps, making sure he couldn't be heard. A moment later, he heard someone right behind him.

He turned around only to see Al's slim figure jogging up behind him. "Good thinking," Al whispered.

Kris was relieved that Al had had the same thought he did. "Remind me, why was it so important to take the walls?" Kris whispered as they followed the figures from a distance up ahead.

"So that we don't have to fight on two fronts. Now we control the northern part of the city. They can't sneak up behind us." Kris nodded even though Al probably couldn't see him.

They maneuvered their way past houses and buildings. Even though the curtains were shut, Kris could see light stream out through the cracks. People were awake, probably pacing the floor, not sure what to do.

They almost lost the group of soldiers in the dark, but found them again easily. Finally, the soldiers stopped in front of a house dangerously close to the castle. One opened the door while the others carried their friend inside. After they had all gone in, Kris tried the door handle quietly. Locked. Then he checked the windows. Locked and curtains closed. Without warning, a blood curdling scream erupted from the inside of the building. It was a wail of agony worse than any Kris had ever heard. He covered his ears from the dreadful sound, which did little to help. Al was similarly affected.

After a minute of the screams, they quieted and died. Kris took his hands off his ears nervously, then walked over to Al.

"Al," he said, swallowing, not really sure what he wanted to ask. "What the-"

Al shook his head. "I have no idea, Kris."

Kris took a careful look at Al. He had been under a lot of stress in the last weeks, but hadn't let the toll it had taken on him show. Now he did. The wrinkles on his face had deepened, his eyes were hollow. And Kris saw something there he hadn't expected to ever see on that face. Doubt.

"What now?" Kris asked. There was no point in thinking about it any longer, he decided. There was no way they were going to figure out what was going on. Now they had to do what was necessary.

Al shook his head again, then took a deep breath. "We hold the wall. No doubt they'll attempt to take it back, but at least we have the advantage."

"Yeah, well we don't have sorcerers either," Kris answered.

"Well aren't you a bloody ray of sunshine. Don't matter, at least we'll be on even ground, then."

Kris nodded, but wasn't convinced. By silent consent, they made their way back to the wall, staying in the shadows, avoiding the light of the moon.


	19. Chapter 18

**Woot woot! Second update. I owe it to you guys :)**

Things spiraled out of control faster than Kris thought possible.

They had spent two days keeping the wall. There were occasional groups of soldiers, and sorcerers, who would attempt to knock them down, but there was little they could do. Al had gone back to organizing the rebellion and had left Kris in charge of the group at the wall. As Al expected, the soldiers hadn't yet attempted to take back the guard shacks. They had put all their effort into taking back the wall. Kris had an uneasy feeling that grew every day that passed.

They had fended the wall from soldiers with spears, ladders, and sorcerers who pummeled the wall with fire balls. Kris admired how strong the wall was that it didn't crumble under it all. And even if he felt uneasy, he did have something to feel proud of. He hadn't lost one soldier under his command since they had taken the wall.

On the dawn of the third day, everything went wrong.

Kris had sleeping in the hollow inside of the wall when someone shook him awake. "Rise and shine, blondie. You aren't gonna like this."

Kris rubbed the sleep from his eyes and stretched his sore muscles. He looked up the steps to the top of the wall. Still dark out. "What's wrong?" he asked, suddenly full alert. "More soldiers?"

"Well..." Ralph said nervously. "Yeah...but no. Just come see."

Kris followed him up the steps and onto the top of the wall. He looked around at the city, silently sleeping as the sky lightened in the first traces of dawn. It looked completely peaceful. He couldn't see any sign of danger.

"Um, turn around." Ralph said behind him.

Kris turned in a circle and his heart nearly stopped. Farther up the mountain fires burned around a campsite. A big campsite. Kris couldn't be sure in the low light, but in his gut he already knew what he was looking at.

"Ralph," Kris said, the urgency present in his voice. "Get to Al. Tell him. We'll need reinforcements and lots of them." Ralph nodded and hurried down the stairs, into the city, then took off running.

Kris went downstairs and woke the rest of the team that wasn't on guard duty. "Battlestations now!" He yelled. Everyone got to their feet and hurried up, staggering along the way up to the wall.

Emma came up next to him. She didn't need to say anything. They both knew what was about to happen, and all they could do now was wait.

Minutes later, Al hurried inside the wall and up the stairs, and joined them. "How many?" he asked after a minute of silence.

Kris shrugged. "No idea. Big group though by the looks of it."

"Where from?"

Kris looked closer and thought he saw a banner. "Emma, can you see the banner?" He asked. He couldn't tell from the distance.

She squinted and nodded. "It's Iris."

Al shook his head. "Iris? Iris is sending reinforcements to Arendelle? That's impossible."

"Well, they're right there." Emma pointed out. "So what's the plan?"

"We can't give over the wall," Kris said stupidly.

"Check. What else?"

"They're going to make us fight on two fronts," Kris continued, "the exact thing we had hoped to avoid."

"Arendelle soldiers behind us, Iris soldiers in front of us." Al muttered.

"Exactly. We need to find a way to keep the fighting on one end. The moment we start fighting on two ends we've already lost. We don't have the manpower. Which means we'll have to be smart."

"I hate being smart," Ralph said, walking up right behind him.

Kris looked around, and a plan started to form in the back of his mind. "This is going to be interesting," he muttered, then explained what he had in mind.

Two hours later, it began. The Iris camp marched right towards them with an army of at least one hundred soldiers. Kris also spotted some Arendelle soldiers in their group, interestingly enough. As he stood on the wall watching them approach, banners held high and swords at their sides, a pang of fear struck him. More people would be hurt today. Killed. But they couldn't back down now.

He heard noise behind him and turned around. Sure enough, Arendelle soldiers were right behind them. He swallowed, saying a silent prayer that he was doing the right thing.

The groups of soldiers approached. Kris guessed thirty on the Arendelle side, and maybe one hundred and twenty on the other side. It wasn't a massive army, but it was enough to crush a tiny rebellion.

"Kristoff of Arendelle," one of the Arendelle soldiers in the city announced, "surrender yourselves now or be killed."

Kris swallowed, then raised his hands. "I surrender," he shouted down at the Arendelle soldiers, then at the Iris group. "I and all who stand with me surrender." Ralph, Emma, and those with him dropped their weapons and raised their hands.

The Arendelle soldier was taken aback, surprised, but quickly regained his former stance. "Come off the wall and we will escort you to the castle."

Kris carefully walked to the stairs and descended, his soldiers right behind him. As soon as they had stepped out of the doors, soldiers were right there to bind them by the wrists. Kris tried their strength, finding that they were surprisingly tight. As they led him off, he wondered if the second part of the plan was going to work.

The Arendelle soldiers walked up to the gates and started to open them, letting the Iris soldiers in. The man in the lead, a tall man with a thick beard, approached the Arendelle commander.

"Sir," the commander started, "the king thanks you and your men for your aid. He would like to welcome you into his castle for your men to relax and spend a meal with him." Kris nearly gagged. Hans hadn't even been coronated yet.

The Iris commander nodded sternly, but said nothing. He almost looked disappointed that it had been so easy. That wouldn't last long. Kris' plan was working beautifully.

The large group of soldiers and prisoners paraded through the streets of Arendelle. As they marched, Kris looked around at each of his ten or so soldiers, then at his surroundings. He rehearsed the scene as best as he could in his mind, calculating every footstep, planning in advance the moves he would need to assure that he _didn't _die.

They passed through a village part of the city, inching closer and closer to the castle. Kris thought he saw something stir on one of the rooftops and smiled. That was a nice little addition to the plan.

Then everything went crazy.

Kris saw it start to happen and jerked away from the soldiers guarding him, knocking one of them over and ducking out of another's way, then crashed into the snow face first. He ignored the cold on his face, laying and waiting. A few people tripped over him. He heard the thumping of rebels jumping from the roofs, ambushing the unsuspecting soldiers. After a moment, Kris pulled himself up to his knees, then to his feet. The other captured soldiers who had followed his lead were starting to stand as well. Kris felt a whoosh of air on his hands behind his back. A moment later his hands were free. He turned around as Isaac handed him a sword.

"Update." Kris ordered as he turned to fend off an Iris soldier.

"Minimal losses," Isaac said, "no casualties yet, I don't think, but we have a long way to go." Kris nodded, then heard a high pitched noise and fell into the snow again, just in time, as a fireball exploded right above him. He carefully stood up again. The damage it had done was obvious. Several rebels and soldiers alike laid sprawled on the ground, burns all over their body. Then Kris noticed Isaac knocked down a few feet away. He tried to go to him but was blocked by an Iris soldier. He made a swift move, aiming to knock the sword out of the soldier's hand, but miscalculated and cut off his entire hand. The soldier screamed as blood rushed from the wound. Kris ignored it and rushed to Isaac, who was trying to stand up. He had several terrible burns on his face and arms. Kris rushed over and helped him up. Isaac somehow communicated without speaking that he was still well enough to fight. Kris nodded back at him, then rushed back into the battle.

Soldiers fell down all around him, dead. Kris felt like vomiting, but the shock and adrenaline coursing through him kept him from doing so. He hated that these men had to be killed, but recognized that they had no other choice. Or did they? Kris didn't even know anymore.

Lying around the corpses of soldiers were other bodies; rebels. All around Kris they were falling. For every soldier that fell two rebels did. The sorcerers and their fireballs just made it worse.

Then Kris realized what he needed to do. He hacked a soldier out of his way with his sword, probably killing him, but he didn't have time to think about that as he ran through the crowd, searching for someone. He cut soldiers down as he ran, giving up on just injuring them. Their wasn't time to make a calculated strike. Just to slash and hack. So that's what he did.

The corpses on the ground became so thick he couldn't walk without stepping on one, both his enemies and his brothers. The snow had turned into a slosh of mud and blood which splashed up on Kris' legs. His clothes soon became covered in blood as well. He rushed a small group of soldiers, parrying a blow to one and stabbing another, parry, stab. Some soldiers came down easily, some took minutes, but Kris' mad energy wouldn't hold out forever. He just barely missed having his forearm cut off as he fought with a soldier, but was left with a nasty cut that oozed blood. A moment later he took another cut to the stomach. He groaned, but kept fighting. He was numb to the pain, if only for a little bit.

The more he fought, the harder the soldiers became to fight as they regained their senses. Finally, Kris exhaled in relief when he found Ralph, who had somehow gotten his hands on an ax and was hacking at soldiers left and right, embedding the blade in chest, leg, wherever he could. Kris couldn't help but admire the skill with which he wielded his weapon. He wouldn't have considered an ax as deadly a weapon as a sword, but Ralph wielded it with precision and almost art.

"Hey lemonhead," Ralph greeted.

Kris laughed despite the circumstance as he parried a blow from an Iris soldier. It was hard to tell Arendell from Iris now with all the blood. "Hey zombie-face."

Ralph laughed. It didn't sound quite right, though. There was an edge of madness to it. "You're really bad at nicknames, you know."

"Yeah, I know. Anyways," Kris started as he cut a soldier in the leg. "I need your help with something crazy."

"I love crazy."

Kris rolled his eyes. "I know you do. We need to find those sorcerers and take them down."

"You mean the one with the fire powers? Who make massive fireballs that burn people to a crisp?"

"Yeah, them."

"You got it Blondie. Where do we start?"

Kris almost took another cut but parried at the last minute with a surge of strength, and while the soldier was recovering stuck the blade into his abdomen. "In theory, the sorcerers are vulnerable. While the others are fighting, they have to focus on their fire thing. Which means they'll be guarded. Which means if we find a clump of soldiers, we find a sorcerer."

Ralph nodded. "Sounds crazy. Let's go."

"Stick close by to me," Kris ordered, "if we find one it will take both of us to take down the guards." Ralph nodded and followed as Kris walked off.

Kris found the first clump of soldiers and marched towards them. About five of them were fighting viciously in formation around another soldier, who must have been the sorcerer. Kris engaged the first one and Ralph the one to his right, parrying blows and trying to get an open window. As Kris found out, they were the elite soldiers. The soldier slashed Kris on the arm, blood flowing from his skin in several places now. Kris gritted his teeth, pulled back his arm and swung as hard as he could, and at the last moment diverted the sword from it's path. The soldier recoiled and parried against the air, expecting the blow of Kris' sword, which gave Kris the opening he needed. He stabbed the man in the stomach, pulled the blade out a second later, and started on the next soldier. Ralph had finished his soldier a second before Kris had by slamming the ax down hard on the soldier's chest, crippling him, and had started on his next one as well. Kris fought away at his opponent, who wasn't as experienced as the last one and went down faster. Ralph's, however, wasn't coming down easily. Kris started on the next one. Just two more now.

However, it didn't take long for the other soldiers to notice what they were doing. Iris and Arendelle soldiers rushed over, trying to reinforce the sorcerer, but finally Kris found an opening in. He rushed right up to the soldier, who looked ordinary, just like any other soldier, only his eyes were closed and he swayed back and forth, mutting something in a voice so low Kris couldn't understand. Somewhere else, Kris heard an explosion. He didn't waste any time. He lifted his sword and drove it right towards the man's heart. As it neared it's destination it went off course to the right, causing Kris to lose his balance. He regained it and tried again. Still no effect. There was an invisible force field surrounding the man.

Kris lifted his sword over his head and began to hack at the force field with it. The sword vibrated under his hand every time it brought it down, but it felt like he was gaining ground. Finally, it let loose, and he whacked the man on the helmet just as another explosion went off. Kris prepared to stab him but was a second too late. An ax had appeared in his chest.

Kris turned around and glared at Ralph. "For God's sake, that was my kill!" He yelled.

Ralph shrugged like it was nothing. "I can't help it if I'm better than you."

Kris walked away from the fallen soldier, looking for Isaac. Now he knew that there was no way they could win this battle unless they killed all the sorcerers present. Granted, it wasn't easy, but it could be done. And Kris knew just the guy for the job.

He found him a moment later, still fighting like a beast despite his burns. Kris walked up to Isaac and explained the situation. Isaac gathered up a few rebels and started hunting for sorcerers.

Kris and Ralph picked up a few other rebels and picked off the sorcerers one by one. On the third one, something changed. Kris fought his way through the soldiers guarding the enemy, but when he found him, he wasn't chanting with his eyes closed. He was wide awake, staring right a Kris, a sinister smile on his face. Kris was taken aback. A moment later, something odd formed in his hand, a small flame that took on an interesting shape, which grew two limbs which stretched out to the sides a few inches, then a blade of flame that grew from the hilt. A sword made completely out of fire rested in his hand. The sorcerer raised his blade for the kill. Kris parried and was shocked to find that the fire blade had substance and bounced off his sword. An instant later the sorcerer attacked again. He was a skilled swordsman.

Kris fought him. When Ralph joined the fight, the sorcerer pulled back, then let a ball of fire form in his left hand, then proceeded to throw it right at Ralph. Ralph dropped to the ground. A moment later a fireball was aimed right at Kris. He ducked just in time, then raised his blade as the sorcerer's came down on it. He sprung up, turned around and slashed again. The sorcerer was ready for him and parried his blow, before shooting another fireball at him. Kris dropped again but a second too late. The sleeve of his shirt caught fire. He dropped to the ground. The snow put it out but the burned skin pulsed uncomfortably. He didn't feel the pain right away. Ralph had saved him from getting his head lopped off as he regained his ground. Just when Kris was feeling hopeless, the end of a sword sprouted from the sorcerer's stomach. His face went slack and his eyes lifeless. For some reason he didn't have a force field. Kris wondered if that was why he wasn't in a trance like the other ones. The soldier fell and behind him stood Emma, her clothes and skin coated in a layer of gore, making her look even more terrifying than normal. She pulled her sword out of the sorcerer and looked at them.

"That's my girl!" Ralph exclaimed.

All around him Kris noticed it happening. Soldiers began to become uneasy. They lost their ground quicker, died easier. Another thing Kris noticed; there were no more fireballs. They had killed all the sorcerers. A minute later what was left of the soldiers retreated towards the castle. Many of the rebels prepared to chase them down.

"Stop!" Kris yelled. "Let them go!" A look around told Kris that enough blood had been shed already.

That was when it all hit Kris full force. The cuts on his body hurt badly, but not as bad as his burnt arm. He looked down at himself. He couldn't remember if the blood on him was his own or someone else's. Then he saw the battlefield. The corpses were stacked on top of each other now, rebels and soldiers alike. Kris had never seen something as appalling and sickening. Blood ran through the streets like water after a storm.

Kris dropped to his knees and retched profusely, throwing up what little had been in his stomach and some of his guts as well. Even after finishing, he felt like throwing up more, but there was nothing left. Kris finally brought himself to stand up and look around. Almost instantly he realized something was off. He saw several of his friends, but not the one he expected to see. A seed of worry planted itself in his gut and he instantly started searching. Searching every part of the gorey street. Finally, as he started to panic, he saw him. And his heart sank.

Al layed on the side of the street, propped up against a building. All Kris could focus on though was the blood that covered his shirt. More than there should have been. Kris rushed over to him. His eyes were wide and fading.

"Kr-Kris?" Al gurgled. Kris lifted up his shirt without a word, the panic too strong in his heart to speak. Kris stared at the wound. He had been stabbed-all the way through.

"Kris," Al said it more like a sigh this time.

"Al," Kris said, then turned to the survivors. "Someone get over here! Get him to the house!"

"No, no," Al said, shaking his head, "no, Kris, I-"

"Al, listen." Kris started.

"No, Kris. You listen." Al took a deep breath and winced with the effort. "Off all the stubborn, stupid, goof-headed bastards I've ever come into contact with, you'd have to be at the..." he winced again. "You'd be at the top of the list.

"Gee, thanks." Kris said, trying to stay lighthearted.

"Kris," Al said again. "You are...the most amazing..."

Kris shook his head. "No, old man, just stop right there."

Al lifted his hand in an incredible burst of effort and touched Kris' chest. "Lead them." he whispered. "This isn't...over yet." Then he closed his eyes and stopped breathing.

"I will." Kris answered a full minute later. "I swear. I will."


	20. Chapter 19

**Sorry about that last chapter...yeah. But here's a short one I thought I'd post today since I want to get back to Elsa tomorrow.**

Kris was on his third drink. His mind was already starting to feel fuzzy, but he decided after a day like that he deserved the distraction.

He had tried to keep a straight face. Al wanted him to lead this group of rebel wanna-bes. He had to be the one who never shed a tear, the one who was strong when everything else was falling. He sure hated it though. The truth was he wanted to go and cry his eyes out like he was five, when he had first met Al.

Kris stared out the window of the tavern where what was left of the rebels had gathered. All were in poor spirits with the death of their leader. Night had fallen. All the families of the fallen soldiers, including Al's wife, had been informed of their loss. Too many. Too many dead.

Ralph sat next to him. "Hell of a day, eh?"

Kris snorted. "Well isn't that the understatement of the year."

Ralph stared in silence out the window. "I'm gonna miss that old fool."

Kris nodded sadly.

"How did you meet him?" Ralph asked.

Kris really, really didn't want to talk about it, so said nothing. There was silence for a few minutes.

"He was my schoolmaster," Ralph finally said, breaking it. "I was the kid who kind of was always sick. He was the only one who really had any compassion for me. He could still be an ass, but he cared about me."

Ralph took a sip of his drink, then continued. "So naturally, when he found out I had the disease, he helped me out."

"You have it?" Kris asked, even though he had suspected it.

Ralph laughed bitterly. "Don't sound so surprised. My body's never been all that tough. Something like this would wipe out whatever was left of my blasted pathetic system."

Kris looked over and almost didn't believe his eyes. Ralph was on the verge of tears. "Well, I only have a few weeks to live at most. I could drop dead right now. There's no cure for this one. I felt like I had wasted my life, so Al gave me the chance to...I don't know, redeem myself or something."

Kris nodded, then couldn't help his curiosity. "You and Emma...are you-"

"Yeah," Ralph said. "Engaged. Well, were. Now I guess it won't happen at all."

Silence again. "I was young." Kris started. He couldn't resist it any longer. Maybe having it all out in the open would help. "I was an orphan. I lived with ice harvesters and grew up learning their trade. One of the first times I came to Arendelle by myself I met him. He was...I don't know what caught my eye about him. But he treated me like his own son, up until..."

The table fell into silence again. Ralph raised his glass. "To Al then."

Kris raised his. "To Al." he repeated.

He looked out the window half-heartedly. Clouds gathered in the distance.

"This isn't over yet." Kris said just loud enough for Ralph to hear. "I think a storm is coming."


	21. Chapter 20

**Well hello again! **

**Good news! Well, great news actually. Maybe not nearly as exciting for you as for me, but just yesterday I finished the draft copy of this FF! It's all done. All that's left now is to proofread it and post it. Thanks for all the support guys. Much appreciated. :-)**

With the wind at their back, Elsa and Jonathan rode towards Arendelle.

They had "borrowed" two horses from Iris, which was depleted of soldiers for some reason. Elsa really didn't like it. She would have prefered to just be honest and just admit to themselves that they had stolen the animals, but Jonathan had insisted that they were just "borrowing" them. Elsa's horse was white, Jonathan's brown and spotted.

Elsa had spilled everything to Jonathan, including her plan. Jonathan seemed skeptical. "Are you sure this guy will be able to help us? Or will even be willing to help us?"

Elsa shook her head. "If anyone can help, he can."

Anna had become the centerpiece of her every thought. She never stopped thinking of her sister. She forced herself to deny the doubt and worry rising within her. She didn't regret all the ground they had now lost. She realized that looking back was pointless. What mattered was what she was going to do to stop Anna from getting hurt. To save her. And she knew exactly what to do.

A snow storm raged above their heads as they rode on. She kept a light shield over their heads to make the going easier. At long last, after several days of travelling, they began their ascent up the mountain. Just behind it lay what was once a city of peace, now a City of Blood.

Night was falling, so she and Jonathan stopped a short ways up. Elsa would have kept going all night, but Jonathan and the horses needed rest.

She didn't think Jonathan had forgiven her yet for leaving him. She didn't bother to try to explain herself. She didn't regret her choice. She got exactly what she wanted. She got her information, and Jonathan was still alive. As far as Elsa was concerned, he should be thanking her. Most of the trip he just rode silently, eyes on the road. What she would have given to know what was going on in his head.

The next day, as snowflakes started to fall, they took off again. While Elsa knew that she could easily break into the city, storm her way to the castle and leave with Anna, she recognized that stealth was important. If she stormed in, people would get killed, and the city turned over into an uproar. So she decided to go with stealth.

They made it to the top of the mountain and looked down on the wall surrounding the city, that surrounded the castle. What Elsa saw devastated her. No one roamed the streets. The city was dark and empty. In part of the city she thought she saw evidence of...she decided not to think about it and prayed she was wrong.

"So...how do we do it?" Jonathan asked.

Elsa shook her head. "Not a clue."

"Guess we should knock."

She laughed nervously. "Seriously?"

He shrugged. "Why not?"

"Because I'll be recognized! And if there's a rebellion going on like I've heard-"

Jonathan pulled a knife out of his jacket that he had also "borrowed", mainly for skinning hunted animals while they travelled. "Turn around," He ordered. She obeyed, knowing where he was going. He grabbed her hair gently and with a few slices cut most of it off, leaving it's length just down to her cheeks. She didn't mind. Anything that would get them into the city. "Uh..." Jonathan said, taking a look at her. "That will help, but we still better keep you cloaked. Just in case."

She nodded and pulled her hood above her head.

"We'll have to try to make good time and not look suspicious."

She actually laughed at that. "We're trying to get into a city currently in civil war. We're gonna look suspicious no matter what."

"Well, let's do our best then." Jonathan concluded. So they began the descent.

They passed the large homes that sat farther up the mountain, rich people sitting without a care far outside the city, outside the madness.

They came close to the wall by mid morning. Elsa saw some guards on top of the wall, patrolling and keeping watch. They were noticed far before they made it to the gates, which were shut tight. The guards didn't look like soldiers. They looked like ordinary peasants. Which only meant one thing; the rebels were moving forward.

One of the guards shouted down to them. "Aye! What're you doing here? What's your business?"

"I'm here to visit a friend who is ill," Elsa answered. The guard seemed almost at a loss for words, probably wondering if they were just stupid, or were going to Arendelle despite the rebellion.

"Where do ye come from?"

"Iris," Elsa answered.

The guard nodded his head. "We're going to have to question you before we let you in," he answered finally. "We'll be right down."

Elsa nodded, but started to worry. He might recognize her if he was close enough. There was a good chance he wouldn't, but she couldn't be sure.

The gates opened up and the two walked out to meet them. Elsa opened her mouth to speak when there was a crackle of electricity, and the guards both fell to the ground. Elsa's jaw dropped and she turned to Jonathan.

"Sorry," he apologized half heartedly. "I don't like negotiations."

"Subtlety really isn't your thing, is it?"

"Nope." He said, smiling. "Don't worry I only gave them enough to knock them out. I doubt they'll even remember us." He flashed his famous smile and strode through the now open gates like he didn't have a care in the world. Elsa hurried to catch up.

The city looked even more dead on the inside. Curtains were closed, no light coming from any house. If Elsa didn't know better, she'd say the city had been abandoned.

It was only then Elsa realized that she had no plan. Anna was obviously still living in the castle, and anyone working there would surely recognize her. How she was going to get in she had no idea. She tried to make herself feel as confident as Jonathan looked.

They walked on with no resistance until they began to come close to the castle. They turned onto a street where a group of peasants sat around a fire. They all looked up at the newcomers in surprise.

"Good day, Gentlemen!" Jonathan announced. "Fine day, is it not?"

The group just sat with their jaws dropped. They all had swords on their sides, injuries and bandages all over their bodies. _Rebels, _Elsa thought.

"Well," Jonathan said after the awkward silence, "we must be on our way."

One of them stood up, a young man with a sickly appearance. "Wait a minute, where are you two from? I've never seen you before."

Jonathan waved off the question. "Oh, travellers from Iris. Here to meet a friend who's sick."

"What're your names?" The man asked. "We run the town now. Before we let you pass we need to-"

Jonathan took a step towards him, reached out, and before the man could react, he touched him on the chest with his pointer finger. The man shivered and recoiled, a stunned look of his face.

"You, sir, have a great deal of static electricity on your clothes." Jonathan remarked. Thunder rumbled in the sky. "Unless I am mistaken there is a great deal of static electricity in the air as well. It would be a shame if...well then, may we be on our way?"

The man looked sick, frightened, and maybe even a little mad, but not stupid. After a bit of thought he nodded and stood out of their way. Jonathan nodded to him as they passed. As they did so the man looked at Elsa, and she thought she saw something in his eyes as they widened upon seeing her. Recognition.

They continued on towards the palace. Elsa wasn't sure how she felt about returning. On one hand, she had grown up there. She loved the people, loved the town. On the other though, this was the home of her torture, of her isolation, and it brought back dark memories with every turn.

They finally made it to the bridge which extended out onto the water and ended in the courtyard, which ended in her home. Several guard patrolled the bridge, and all stopped to look when the duo came close.

"Hello gents," Jonathan greeted. "In for a..._shock?" _From Jonathan's hands came arcs of white electricity which found the guards and knocked them out.

Elsa rolled her eyes. "You're ridiculous."

Jonathan shrugged and kept walking.

They entered the courtyard. With another explosion of electricity from Jonathan every guard went down. Jonathan didn't look as upbeat as he had before, but still wore the smile and walked as confidently as ever, right up to the palace doors.

Of course, they were locked. "Well, what now?" He asked.

"Don't ask me, you're the one with the plan."

Jonathan laughed. "Of _course _I don't have a plan. Whatever made you think that?"

Elsa walked to a window on the side of the great doors, ignoring him. The windows were also locked, but she could fix that. She willed ice to gather on the outside of the window, then constricted it, compacted it, until with a crash, the ice shattered, bringing the window down with it. Jonathan ran over and followed her as she climbed in.

The hallways were just like she remembered them. Tall, elegant, overly packed with items hanging from either side, suits of armor standing guard over them. It was all perfect.

She never knew much about Anna. Never spent that much time with her. She didn't even know which room she stayed in, but was confident that if she could find her room, she could find Anna's. And Elsa knew her way to her's.

She started walking quickly down the mostly deserted halls. Every once in a while a soldier would pop out, just to get electrocuted by Jonathan. They went up flights of stairs, down more halls, up more stairs, until they got to her floor. Then to her hall.

Elsa stopped in her tracks as old feelings and ghosts converged on her. She suddenly saw her parents, walking up and down the hall. She felt every feeling she had felt in that horrid room. Loneliness. Desperation. Depression. Hatred. She hated herself. She saw Anna as a girl, then as a teenager, then as a young woman, every time asking, begging Elsa to come out and play with her. And Elsa felt her anger and hurt over being forced to refuse her every time, for fear there should be another accident.

Jonathan put his hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?" He asked.

She swallowed. "I'm fine. Let's go." Putting one foot in front of the other, she started walking down the hall.

They came to her door just as ghost Anna in Elsa's mind was arriving, maybe twelve years old, asking that same question. Elsa forced herself to think. If her door was here, one of the more elegant looking doors, and Anna came almost every day when they were young, she must be on the same floor, if not the same hall. So Elsa started walking, looking for a door as elegant as hers. She came to the end of the hall, turned a corner and down another. Half way down was another door as large and elegant as her own. It must be it. It must.

Elsa braced herself and put her hand on the handle. Locked, as she expected. As she touched it she let her power flow out of her hand and into the door knob, damaging the lock. She kicked it open as softly as she could.

The interior was dark, but warm. The curtains were all closed, making it hard to see what was inside. Soon her eyes adjusted. The room was clean, which almost made Elsa doubt it was Anna's room. As little as she knew about her sister, she knew that she was not tidy. At all. Then Elsa remembered that there were maids who tended to her.

Elsa had a look around. A table with a vase of flowers on it, a nightstand with some books on the table, some standard Arendelle furniture, but other than that the room was practically empty.

Elsa turned her attention to the bed. The curtains around it were all closed. Elsa cautiously walked over, put her hand on the curtain, and pulled it back.

And there she was. Anna. The sister she never knew. Only she was nothing like she remembered her just weeks before at the coronation. Her face was sunken and pale, her body skinny and sickly. She seemed to be sleeping peacefully, but she looked terrible. Elsa's heart nearly broke to see her like that, but she forced herself to focus. Right now she had a mission. She had to save her, and still had the chance to do so.

Elsa leaned in so her face was right next to hers. Anna's forehead was frighteningly hot. Elsa just stared at her for a moment. Her beautiful, optimistic, terribly awkward little sister was now pale and sick. She was hardly able to keep herself together. Elsa placed a hand on her shoulder, and she started to stir.

Anna opened her eyes. They were still warm, like they had always been, full of childish joy and bliss. Elsa couldn't hide a smile. Anna might have looked bad, but inside, she was still the same person, despite it all.

Anna's eyes found hers. She stared in amazement for a moment, then tried to sit up, only to fall back in bed from the effort. "Elsa?" She asked, her voice weak. It felt so good to hear that voice again.

"Yeah, Anna. It's me. Your sister. Elsa."

"You cut your hair." She said, then covered for herself. "I mean, it doesn't look bad-" Elsa chuckled softly. "Wh-Why-H-h-"

"Shhh." Elsa shushed her, just as the door opened again. A maid walked in with a pitcher. Jonathan whipped around and shocked her. The pitcher fell with the woman and shattered, water spilling all over the floor. Jonathan ran over, pushed the maid out of the way and shut the door again.

"Who's that?" Anna asked, sounding stronger, even if just a little bit.

"That's Jonathan." Elsa answered. "He's an idiot."

Anna laughed. Elsa smiled at the sound. "How do you feel?" Elsa asked.

"Never better." Anna answered. She hadn't lost what made her Anna. "Elsa, what are you doing...here?"

Elsa laughed softly. "I'm here to save you, obviously."

"Save me...?"

Elsa sighed. Everything had to be explained to her. "When you were little our parents took us to this guy who could heal anything. I think he can heal you."

Something sparked in Anna's eyes. "You're serious?"

"Yeah," Elsa said quickly, "but we have to hurry."

"Elsa," Anna said quietly. "You came back."

Elsa stopped. Everything stopped. She just stared at her. Elsa had left her. Abandoned her. All the guilt of that washed over her. Elsa bit her lip. There was only one way to say sorry to Anna. Elsa felt like over the last few weeks she had understood her powers better. She hoped she could control them well enough by now.

Elsa jumped in the bed right next to her and wrapped her arms around her feverishly warm skin. She couldn't hold it back any longer. A sob escaped her throat and a tear slid down her cheek. She let frost gather on the walls of the room. It was the only way to express her love for Anna without hurting her.

"I'm so sorry," Elsa sobbed into her shoulder. "I'm sorry," she repeated, the last word coming out as a squeak.

Anna remained silent, then whispered, "Promise you won't leave me again."

Elsa took in a shaky breath and shook her head. "No. No. I promise. Never again. I'll be there for you this time. I promise." Elsa released her hold on her and looked into Anna's glassy eyes. A tear rolled down Anna's cheek and onto the pillow.

"I knew you'd come back." She whispered so quietly Elsa almost missed it.

Elsa chuckled. "Of course you did. You always know."

Elsa was aware of Jonathan standing to the side, no doubt worried about the amount of time they had left, but hadn't said anything. Elsa didn't want to leave. Why did things have to be like this? Why couldn't they just stay in that room forever, getting to know each other again.

"Um..." Anna said, bringing her back to reality. "We probably should go."

Elsa nodded and stood. "Yeah, that'd be a good idea." Anna reached out with a hand. Elsa grabbed it and gingerly helped her out of the bed. She was so weak it was like pulling on dead weight. Elsa grabbed her under her arms and lifted her out of the bed. Anna was barely able to carry her weight when Elsa set her gingerly on the floor. Elsa caught her as she lost her balance.

"Whoops," She tried to cover, "I'll be fine."

Jonathan gave them privacy as Elsa dressed Anna in comfortable clothes and a jacket. Amazingly, Anna was almost able to walk on her own. Elsa always knew she was stronger than people gave her credit for. Elsa walked next to her, ready to help her should she need it. Jonathan nodded towards Elsa and together they walked out of the room, back into the hallway.

"How much time do you think we have?" Elsa asked Jonathan when they were in the hallway.

"I'd say just a few more minutes."

"Estimate?"

"Four," Jonathan answered. "If we're lucky."

"Sorry, until what?" Anna asked.

"Until the guard notices we're here." Elsa answered.

As they walked down and down to the first floor, Elsa saw that Anna was getting weaker, but kept going. Elsa tried to give her a hand but Anna refused, insisting she was fine.

"So, um." Anna started. "Are you and Jonathan...well, you know?"

Elsa was genuinely confused. "I do?"

"Well, you know..." Anna gestured with her head towards Jonathan.

"Anna, what are you-"

"I mean like a..._thing._"

Elsa rolled her eyes, blood rushing to her face, finally understanding.

"Anna, were trying to escape a city full of rebels and people who want me dead and _you _want to talk about _this_?"

Anna shrugged. "I don't know, you just, um, look-"

"Stop. Stop talking right now." Elsa said sternly.

"Okay. So you mean I can't talk like, at all?"

"You're still talking." Elsa pointed out.

"Sorry," Anna apologized.

"Don't apologize."

"Sorry."

Elsa laughed. Anna didn't even realize. Elsa couldn't see past Jonathan's head, but could almost see him smirking.

By the time they got to the first floor their pace had slowed considerably. Elsa finally couldn't stand it and put her arm around and underneath Anna's armpit to help her. This time she didn't refuse.

Somewhere down the hallway, Elsa heard metal clinking. "I think our four minutes are up," Jonathan said, breaking out into a run for the window they had used to get in. Elsa rushed along with Anna as fast as she could.

The group of guards they had heard finally rounded the corner and stared right at them. Elsa saw shock on some of their faces, confusion in others, probably wondering if it really was Elsa.

Elsa rolled her eyes and released her ice powers. They collected around the walls a few feet in front of the soldiers, closing in. They tried to run to get ahead of it but were too late. The ice extended until it became a solid wall, separating them from Elsa.

"Ohhh, right." Anna said. "You still have that...ice thing." Elsa ignored her, and ran towards the broken window and helped Anna out. Elsa followed, Jonathan bringing up the rear.

Outside, the condition wasn't much better. Soldiers surrounded the courtyard, guarding the exit. Elsa prepared more ice but was cut off when five patches of flame suddenly surrounded her. Small fires, about twice as wide in diameter as herself, which burned in hot intensity. From the group of soldiers, five began walking in their direction. Elsa concentrated and shot ice at the flames, but incredibly, they refused to go out. Elsa tried harder, put more effort into her powers. Still no effect.

Finally the sorcerers, at least Elsa guessed that's who the five men were, came less than fifteen feet from them and the fires went out. They proceeded to stand in their circles of black, surrounding them. Without warning, they spontaneously combusted and were consumed in flame. It was so thick and hot that they looked like spirits made out of heat. The Sorcerers of Arendelle were more powerful than they had been on their last encounter.

White electricity formed in Jonathan's hands then arched towards the sorcerers, but they had come prepared. They produced metal poles which consumed the electricity and didn't harm them. Elsa stepped back. How were they going to get out of this one?

Every one of the sorcerers shot huge flames at the trio. Elsa's mind went into high gear. Ice shot from her hands, and she willed it self-consciously to form in a circle around them, firing back at the sorcerers. Elsa, Anna and Jonathan stood in the small circle, the eye of the hurricane, watching the magicians fight.

For every snowflake Elsa created, a flame was there to evaporate it, and for every flame, there was a snowflake to snuff it out. It was an impossible battle. In the end, it would come down to who was the stronger sorcerer, who could endure the longest. Elsa was determined to be the winner.

The fear was present in Anna's eyes. Jonathan's face squinted in concentration as he tried to use his powers to help, but whatever the sorcerers had made to fight against Jonathan's magic was working well, and Elsa knew he wouldn't risk lightning. In the small space between the sorcerers, whatever happened would affect both groups. It was up to Elsa now.

Sweat ran down her forehead, neck and spine. Still concentrating, she shed her jacket, then went back to work. It was exhausting. How they had become so powerful in such small time she couldn't fathom. There were five of them, using their collect power against her, and only one of her. And she was already tired from a week's worth of almost non stop travelling. She began to doubt she could do it.

_No. _She told herself. She couldn't fail. She couldn't. No matter how hard it got, she would never stop until it was physically impossible to do so.

She reached that point far sooner than she expected, though. Her mind became fuzzy, her heart frail. Her limbs felt like jelly. Thoughts swarmed in her head like a few tiny fish in a massive ocean. She knew they were there, but couldn't make sense of them. She felt that barrier she always felt when her powers stretched too far. She didn't know what would happen if she went over, but couldn't imagine it being good. She felt that the energy inside her was about to consume her. She couldn't go on any longer. She couldn't.

The sorcerers gained ground and consumed what little was left of her powers. She dropped to the ground, exhausted, not being able to tell left from right. She somehow realized that she was still alive, that she hadn't been consumed by flames, but couldn't think much past that. But she knew they were going to be killed. At least she and Jonathan were. She could almost feel the blade coming down on her neck.

She heard a commotion around her, and sighed. Why couldn't they just get it over with? She laid waiting for the blade that never came. The next thing she felt was someone's arms picking her up. She risked opening her eyes and saw Jonathan above her, but he didn't look afraid. He didn't look worried.

"Elsa, get up!" Something about those words sparked new life into her. She carefully stood up and tried to stop the world from spinning. Around her she saw soldiers going down. The five sorcerers that had been around them were now sprawled on the ground, blood streaming from different parts of their bodies, all dead. She focused and looked around. Peasants, rebels, had come to their rescue.

One of them, a tall, muscular man with blonde hair ran up to her with blood splattered on his shirt, a sword in hand, and bowed to her.

"My queen," he said reverently in between breaths, "hurry. Whatever it is you came to do, do it quickly. Reinforcements will be here any minute." That snapped the rest of the world back into focus. She placed a hand on the man's shoulder, trying to express her thanks, helped steady Anna, and rushed towards the front of the courtyard, Jonathan right behind her. All around her rebels took down soldiers one by one. They made it to the gate, across the bride, and rushed through the town. They were going to make it after all.

They made it to the gates. When the guards on top saw them, they hurried to down and opened them up. Elsa, Anna and Jonathan ran through, running up the mountain. They didn't stop until the sun began to set.


	22. Chapter 21

**Second update today! Because...you guys are worth it. :-)**

Elsa could only think of one place where she'd be confident with letting Anna stay. It would take all night to get there, but what choice did they have?

They found their horses tied to the tree where they left them. They saddled up and helped Anna into the saddle of Elsa's horse. Elsa jumped up behind her, and when Jonathan was situated, they rode off.

Anna fell asleep not a couple minutes after they started. She looked twice as worse as she had earlier that day. Elsa didn't think that was even possible. She knew her time was running thin. They just had to keep going. They had to make it in time.

Finally, as dawn was breaking, they arrived. Winston. Where it all had begun. Were the first of Jonathan's servants had been killed. Where Elsa had began her crazy journey. She knew they would need rest to make it the rest of the way, Anna especially, and she only knew one inn where they'd be accepted.

Just as the town began to stir, coming out of their homes and into the street to begin their day, Elsa, Anna and Jonathan rode up to the inn. Elsa gently woke Anna and helped her out of the saddle. Jonathan took the horses to the stable.

Elsa rapped on the door quietly, holding Anna up with her other arm. No response. A minute later, Elsa banged on the door with her fist as hard as she could. Just as Elsa was ready to just barge in, the door swung open. In the doorway stood Bard in his night clothes, blinking away the sleep. His eyes widened when he saw Elsa, and then even more when he looked at Anna. He stepped out of the way and Elsa rushed in.

"Bard-" Elsa tried to say, but he had already taken off down the hall and unlocked a door for her.

"Come on, come on," he said, "bring her in!"

Elsa rushed after him and into the room. She carefully helped Anna lay down. She fell asleep almost instantly. Elsa undressed her and pulled the covers up to her neck, then just watched her sleep for a minute.

When she turned around, Bard was still standing there. "Anything I can do?" he asked politely.

"You've already done enough," She said gratefully. "Thank you."

He nodded. "But seriously, just tell me what needs to be done, if you ever need anything that is." Elsa nodded her thanks, and he closed the door, leaving Elsa alone with her sister.

A while later, Elsa sat across from Jonathan in the tavern, having a pint of beer. She forced herself to relax. All the stress of the last few days was threatening to drive her mad. She looked over at Jonathan, who looked like he was forcing himself to stay awake.

"Mind if I ask you something?" Elsa asked nervously.

"Sure." He answered. "What is it?"

"Think about the original reason we did this. Because you had people you wanted to save, I had people I wanted to save. So if I can ask, why are you still helping me? I mean, what's in it for you?"

Jonathan smiled. "Well that's a dumb question. Because I'm your friend, Elsa. That's kind of what friends do."

Elsa looked down, embarrassed, then chuckled to herself. "Friend. I never thought I'd have a...friend."

He smiled at her, and she smiled back. They stared at each other for a few moments, then Jonathan cleared his throat. "We better get some rest."

"Yeah, we should."

"What time do we leave?" he asked.

"Nightfall at the latest."

He nodded and stood up. "I'll see you in a few hours then."

As soon as twilight began to fall, they were on their way once again. Elsa had forced Anna to swallow at least a little bit of soup, she and Jonathan had replenished supplies, and now they were prepared to be on the road once again. As Jonathan went to get the horses, Elsa was helping Anna get dressed. Dark bags had formed under her eyes. She was definitely looking worse. Elsa bit the inside of her cheek nervously. She could only hope they had enough time.

"Elsa?" Anna asked in a thin voice. "Where are we going again?"

Elsa shook her head. "Just wait and see, okay?" Anna smiled at her even though she was in obvious pain.

While they waited for Jonathan in the now full tavern, Elsa got Anna a small drink. Maybe it would help with the pain. A moment later Jonathan rushed in, ready to go. Elsa apologized for their low funds to Bard, promising to pay it back on her next visit. He nodded understandingly, and the trio walked outside. Elsa picked Anna up-she was so light and dainty-and helped her onto the horse. Anna fell forward and hugged her stallion's neck. Elsa came behind her and grabbed onto the reins.

"Where to?" Jonathan asked, now sitting on his own horse.

"South east." Elsa said. "If my memory is right it's on the far western side of the land.

Jonathan nodded. "We don't stop until tomorrow morning then." Elsa looked up at the sky, then agreed, and they rode off.

Snow began to fall as they rode into the night. The sun set behind the mountains, turning the clouds that hung over their heads orange and purple. It really was beautiful, but Elsa couldn't stop to admire it. She had to keep going. She kept her mind focused on one thing. It was the only thing that kept her sane anymore. She had to set her eyes on the goal, and hope everything else would work out.

The sky darkened completely, and the snowstorm thickened. Elsa did her best to make a shield above Anna, so she wouldn't be affected by the cold. They rode farther into the night in silence, the wind strong and loud in their ears. Hours later, the storm stopped, and the clouds parted, if only for a moment. Elsa took her eyes off the road for just one moment and looked up at the stars. Every one of them was shining in their full brightness against the black backdrop of the night sky. Every one twinkled almost in nervous excitement. Elsa couldn't resist letting her mind wander this time. She wondered what stars even were. They almost looked down on their trio as if wondering how it was all going to end. She stared up into the river of stars that formed in the night sky, stretching across it like a ribbon with millions and millions of stars resting within it. So many stars that she couldn't even point them all out. So many stars that they blended together, appearing like a liquid stream flowing through space for God's pleasure. The thought made Elsa smile.

Hours later, morning came. Elsa and Jonathan slowed their horses to a trot to let them relax for a little while, then picked up the pace once again. Anna woke up for five minutes. Elsa forced some food down her throat, then she drifted off again. Jonathan rode in silence. Elsa almost wish he would say something, to take her mind off their mission, but then again what could he possibly say? So they continued to ride in silence.

Up a mountain, down a slope, through a valley, then again. Elsa saw something in the distance on the next rise and exhaled. In the valley below was the Ice-harvesters outpost, completely empty now. Elsa knew where to go from here.

They descended the mountain, then went into the empty and desolate town, then to the far west side of the town. Their was a path their through a forest and up a small mountain. Elsa nodded to Jonathan, and they took off into the forest.

The forest was a dark canopy above their head, so thick that at first sunlight was scarce, and they had to concentrate hard to stay on the path in the dark. Later, though, it thinned, and the trees grew taller and more spread apart. Elsa was thankful for that, mainly because she grew claustrophobic very easily. Then they started the ascent of the mountain. Elsa guessed that, if they were lucky, they'd reach their destination by nightfall.

Amazingly, the world didn't seem set on destroying them for one day. The weather was nice, the sky was clear, the wind reduced to nothing but a small breeze. They continued in a steady pace up the mountain path. Day turned to afternoon, afternoon to dusk. Elsa felt that they were close. She remembered something about it being difficult to find, so she kept her eyes peeled for anything that looked odd.

"Elsa?" Jonathan called from behind her. "Come here and look at this."

Elsa turned her horse around on the path and was at Jonathan's side in a moment. He pointed to a small difference in the rock she had missed, a small crevice just wide enough for the horses that widened about ten feet in.

"Come on, let's check it out." Elsa led her horse through, just barely squeezing in. A second later it widened, so much that they were able to travel side by side. The rock walls extended up around them. It got much darker than it had been outside. They continued until the small path opened up into a huge landscape of rock. It was enormous, at least twice as large as the ruins near Iris had been. Ivy grew along the walls and on the ground. Scattered all over the landscape were huge round rocks, taller than Elsa's horse. She searched her memory, trying to figure out if this was the right place or not.

Jonathan voiced her thoughts. "Is this the place?"

Elsa continued to think. She still wasn't sure, but this had to be it.

If this wasn't it, where else could it be? "I think so," she answered.

"So...where's your friend?"

Elsa looked around at the walls, then focused on a rock. Suddenly something clicked. "I think they're...the rocks."

"Seriously?" Jonathan asked.

Elsa nodded.

He shrugged. "Wouldn't be the weirdest thing I've ever seen. Now, how do we wake these guys up?" Elsa tried to remember then looked up. The clouds had come together again, thick and heavy. Thunder rolled loudly, hurting her ears. She turned around to Jonathan, irritated.

"What?" he asked. "You couldn't think of anything."

"I'd rather _not _irritate these guys," she said, exasperated.

"Well then maybe you should just _talk _to the rock, miss know-it-all."

Elsa shrugged. It was as good a shot as any. She walked over to one of the huge rocks and placed a hand on it. "Um...hello, rock."

Someone started laughing. Elsa turned around to see Anna now lying awake on the horse, chuckling. "You're talking to a rock." she giggled.

Elsa rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to the rock. "Well, um. We need some help. My sister Anna, the princess of Arendelle, is terribly sick, and we-"

Elsa stopped when she heard a small sound, all around her. The sound of rock scraping against rock, growing in intensity and volume. It did so for several minutes, growing louder and louder. The sound gave Elsa goosebumps. She cringed and covered her ears. Finally, she began to see what was happening. All around her, the rocks began to change. Cracks formed all around them, then separated. The pieces, still connected to the whole of the rock by some invisible glue, began to twist, turn and change. More cracks formed in the smaller pieces, then more cracks yet. The tiny, tiny pieces moved around along the larger rocks, and Elsa saw it start to come together. One large rock for the face, smaller rocks for the features, the lips, the ears, then smaller ones yet for the eyebrows and eye lashes. As one, the rocks flipped upwards. As they did so, the large rock on the ground broke into two pieces, making legs. More pieces of rock broke off, making carefully chiseled feet and toes.

Then, as one, they all transformed. They went from being rock to being...almost human. Their skin still held the granite coloration and texture, but something about them became real. Their eyes had real life glowing in them, their faces radiated warmth. Each one was nearly ten feet tall.

They looked down at their trio with...almost pitiful eyes. The one in front of Elsa bent over and stared at her for a moment. It wasn't uncomfortable, though. The trolls carried a comforting air about them. Elsa didn't understand it, but didn't care. Somehow, she felt that despite all she'd been through, everything would be okay.

Then the one in front of her straightened and moved to the side, as did the others spread out in front of her. One single rock rolled forward from their midst and stopped right in front of Elsa. In less than a second he had transformed into a troll. He was much smaller than the others, just a bit taller than Elsa.

"There's strange magic here," he said in a rough, metallic voice. "The princess of Arendelle. Anna. I know that name."

"Please," Elsa said politely, "after all these years I have forgotten your name."

His face remained concentrated. "I am Pabbie. Welcome back, Snow Queen, to the Valley of Living Rock."

"Back?" Anna asked curiously, her eyes wide with wonder. Jonathan stood smiling with his arms crossed like he had expected this all along.

"Of course," the troll said to Anna. "Ah, but yes. We...altered your memories so you wouldn't remember it. Well, when you were young-"

"It's not important," Elsa said quickly, a bit too quickly.

The old troll gave pause. "There was an accident and, well, we helped you."

Anna chuckled softly. "So that would explain that weird dream I had a while ago."

Pabbie turned back to Elsa. "Your highness, it has been a while. Queen of Arendelle now, I suppose?"

Elsa stumbled over her words. "Well, not quite. There's no time to explain. Anna is sick and we need your help."

The troll looked back over to Anna. "Bring her here." Elsa rushed over to Anna and helped her off the horse.

Pabbie's face was etched with concern. "Lay her down, right here." Elsa helped her sister down onto the cold hard rock. Pabbie bent over her face and gestured with his hands over her body. Her eyes closed and her breathing became steady and normal. Wisps of what looked like miniature clouds circled over her body as he did so. Pabbie examined the wisps with a look of concentration for several minutes, then released them. They fell back towards Anna and disappeared when they touched her. As they did, her eyes fluttered open.

Pabbie stood and wrung his hands together. He mumbled something Elsa couldn't understand.

"What's wrong?" Elsa asked.

He looked up at her. "Your sister has something...odd." He walked over to Elsa and spoke in whispers. "Werewolf poisoning."

Elsa was taken aback. How was that possible? Anna lived in the castle, hardly ever went outside, much less outside the kingdom. How could she have been attacked by a werewolf? "Where's the injury?" Elsa asked, the worry present in her voice.

"There is none, which means that she must have ingested it. So instead of eating from the outside in, it's eating from the inside out." Elsa shook with worry. "This would explain a great deal." The troll said, his face grave and worrisome. "It's extremely difficult to get werewolf poison in a potion form." What did it all mean?

Then things started to click. If she ingested the poison, that means someone gave it to her. Who would have the motivation and ability needed to poison the princess? As Elsa reviewed the possibilities in the fraction of a second, she suddenly knew who had done it. Who had done this to her sister.

"Elsa," Pabbie said, putting his stone cold hands on her shoulders. "Listen closely. I couldn't foresee this. Usually I can foresee events like this, but I haven't been able to foresee anything for months now. This confirms my suspicion. The one you are fighting against is far greater than you know. Far more dangerous."

"Hans?" Elsa asked, confused.

Pabbie shook his head. "No, no, Elsa, the Master! He is the true enemy. Never forget that."

Elsa waved him off. She couldn't think about him right now, of all people. "What about Anna? Can you help her?"

Pabbie looked at her with eyes full of sympathy, then shook his head. "The potion would have been hard enough to remove had we discovered it weeks ago. It's permeated nearly every part of her body now, but it's also protected by deep, dark spells. I'm sorry, Elsa. There's nothing I can do."


	23. Chapter 22

**Woot! Beat my original goal of 50k words last week and still have more to post!**

**I'm gonna post two today, cause they're short chapters. Enjoy!**

"What do you mean?" Elsa whispered harshly. "There's nothing you can do?!"

"I'm sorry, Elsa. I'm very sorry."

"Well if you can't help, who _can?" _Elsa panicked.

"No one can help her now. I'll give her something to ease her pain, but that's as far as anyone could do. I don't even think the Master could heal her at this point."

Elsa felt her eyes fill up with tears. It couldn't be possible. They had come all this way, come so far, and there was still nothing she could do. Despite her love, despite her selflessness, in the end, she was completely and utterly useless.

Elsa swallowed hard, then spoke. Her voice sounded wobbly when she did. "How long does she have?" She croaked.

"I'd say maybe a day or two. Maybe less."

Elsa forced herself to hold it in. She couldn't let it go. She couldn't.

She pushed past Pabbie and walked over to Anna.

"Elsa?" Jonathan asked as she walked over. "What's wrong?" Elsa ignored him and kept walking.

She knelt down next to Anna and stared into her eyes. "What is it?" Anna asked.

Elsa tried to smile. "Nothing. Anna, listen to me. They say you aren't going to make it, but I know better. You are..." Elsa forced back a sob. "The strongest and bravest person I've ever met. All those years of me shutting you out and you still loved me, still forgave me. When our parents..." Elsa shook her head. "Just...you're by far the most..." Elsa couldn't do it. _Yes I can, _she told herself. Because she really believed that Anna was strong enough to conquer it. That she would prove the world wrong like she had done for her eighteen years of life. "You...you've always known, Anna. You've always seen the good in the world, in people. I hid from it, but you embraced it." Anna's eyes were locked on hers. "I believe in you, Anna. I believe that you're strong enough to make it."

Anna swallowed, then weakly grabbed Elsa's hand. "Elsa, I don't-"

"No," Elsa choked. "No, Anna. Don't give up now. The world needs you. You can't give up. I need you. Please, don't give up."

Anna was silent for a moment, her bottom lip trembling. "Okay. Okay Elsa. I'll fight it." She laughed and her eyes filled with tears. "I don't even know what that means, but I'll do it somehow."

Elsa smiled at her, a tear rolling down her cheek. She wiped it away. "I know you can make it. I know you can."

Anna smiled, staring into her eyes. Then her eyelids drooped shut, and she fell asleep.

Elsa almost didn't notice Jonathan sit next to her as she stared at her sister, beautiful even in the face of death. Jonathan put an arm around her shoulder, the same gesture she had given him when he was distraught. No words needed to be said. That one gesture said enough. They sat together in the cold, watching Anna as she slept. Her deep breaths as her chest rose and fell steadily. In, out, in, out.


	24. Chapter 23

"There's only one choice left," Ralph said over the strategy table underneath the tavern, where it had all began. "We have to storm the castle before Hans makes another plan."

After Elsa's return and flight from Arendelle, Hans issued a decree that all loyal citizens were to come to the palace, away and safe from the rebels, where they would be well taken care of it. The plan, Kris recognized, was genius in two ways. One, obviously in Hans' mind, some rebels would go in to spy on him, giving him the perfect opportunity to kill more rebels. Secondly, it completely defended the castle. Hundreds of citizens-men, women and older children-could take up arms at a moment's notice if the palace was attacked. Hans knew the rebel's weakness and had exploited it, that they wanted to spare as many citizens as possible. Set up an army of them right in front of the palace, and how could they attack? Now all that was left to do was wait for more reinforcements from Iris to do away with the rebels once and for all.

"Kris," Ralph continued, "you have to realize that as soon as those reinforcements come we'll be destroyed. We've lost more than half of our men. Our one and only chance is to attack the castle before they get here." Kris bit his lip. What Ralph was suggesting went against everything he believed, went against what Al had believed, almost went against their original mission in the first place. Kris went through his mind and tried to think of anything that could possibly work, any other options, but continued to come up empty. There were only three ways this could end; One, they attack the city, kill some of Hans' militia trying to get in, and possibly end the war. Two, surrender and face whatever punishment Hans saw fit. Three, sit still until the reinforcements arrive then die fighting.

As psychotic as Ralph was, he had a point. Kris hated it when he had points.

Kris took a look around at what was left of the original group; Emma, Ralph, and Jed. Amos and Al had been lost, and Isaac had taken some nasty injuries and couldn't make the meeting. Everyone was scared, exhausted, and weary of all the death and destruction. But as far as they had come, as much as they had endured, it wasn't over yet. There was still a big dragon to slay.

Kris looked down at the map of the city spread out below him, then back up at his friends. "Okay," he nodded. "We strike in three days, give us enough time to get prepared. This is going to matter more than any battle we've fought so far. This may even be the end of the war. We need to be ready for it."


	25. Chapter 24

**Thanks again for all the continuing encouragement, guys :) ~E-Sharp**

Elsa felt someone shaking her awake. "Elsa?" she heard Jonathan say. She sat up groggily and rubbed the sleep out her eyes. "It's Anna...she wanted to talk to you."

That fully snapped Elsa out of her sleep. She stood up quickly. Jonathan stood in front of her. He didn't look like he'd gotten a wink of sleep. He stepped aside, and Elsa walked over to Anna, laying in the same place she had been just hours before.

She had shed her blanket somehow. Her entire body was coated with a thick layer of sweat. Her eyes were open, but red and lifeless. Her forehead practically glowed it was so red. Elsa knelt down next to her. Her breaths came in ragged gasps now, her chest just barely moving up and down.

"Elsa," she croaked in a wheezy voice.

"I'm here, Anna." Elsa replied, pulling a strand of hair in her face behind her ear.

"Elsa," she repeated, "I don't...I don't think I can fight it anymore."

Elsa's almost didn't understand. "No, no, you _can-" _

"Do you wanna build a snowman?"

Elsa choked on a mix between a laugh and a sob. That one sentence. The one that Anna always used to try to get Elsa to come out, to be the friend and sister that she needed. Every time she had refused. "Yes, yes Anna." Elsa didn't care now. She let the tears stream down their face. "Yes, I want to build a snowman. We'll go out into the mountains and we'll build the biggest, bestest snowman ever, but you have to _stay with me._"

Anna smiled weakly. "We'll give him a carrot nose...coal eyes and smile...we'll name him Olaf, just like we used..."

"Yes, yes." Elsa laughed, "Olaf. That's what we'll name him. But you have to stay awake Anna, just stay...awake."

"Promise me you'll build it. Promise." Anna croaked.

Elsa nodded. "I promise."

"Tell Hans that I'm sorry." She mumbled.

Elsa bit her lip, but forced herself to nod, even though she knew the truth. "I will." She lied.

Anna smiled, and a single tear fell down the side of her face. "Elsa-" she tried to say, then was silent. Elsa watched the last ounce of life leave her eyes, the last inhale of her chest, had heard her last word. Elsa.

Elsa couldn't hold it in anymore. She flung herself onto her sister's body and cried into her shoulder. She whispered all the things that she knew she should have said, all the endless apologies she knew she owed her. In the end, despite all of her great power, there was nothing she could do to stop her from dying. Elsa had let her down her entire life. She was never there for her. Not even at their parent's funeral, and now she had let her down again. All Elsa could do now was cry.

Later, they buried her next to the path they had taken to the Valley. Jonathan had found a large rock and, using a piece of coal from their pack, had written her name and placed it over her grave. As they stared down at it, Elsa had no words. There was nothing to be said. Nothing worth saying. All she could do was stare. Jonathan stood next to her. He hadn't said a word since waking her up.

Something inside Elsa finally snapped. She knew exactly who had killed her sister. She clenched her fists and tried to steady her breaths. A fire rose inside her, igniting in her chest and spreading out to the rest of her body, stretching to her toes and head. Her heartbeat quickened as it burned. She didn't have anything left. He had taken away the only thing left in all the world that mattered to her. And she would make him pay. She was numbly aware of Jonathan trying to get her attention, but wasn't paying attention. She only had one goal left. One thing she needed to do. Then for all she cared she could fall on her own sword. But this one last thing had to be finished. The fire inside of her grew hotter.

She turned around and walked away from the grave, back to the tree where their horses were tied. Jonathan ran alongside her, trying to figure out what was going on, but she ignored him. The only thing he could do now was get in her way. She untied her horse, mounted, dug her heel in it's side and sped off, wasting no time. Jonathan was nowhere in sight.

She held tight to the reins as she rode down the mountain at an incredible speed. She pushed her horse to the limits as she set her eyes on the horizon. Far, far in the distance she saw the mountain that separated her from Arendelle. She set her eyes on it and drove the horse harder.

As soon as she reached the bottom of the mountain and was about to race through the Ice Harvesters Outpost, Jonathan finally showed up, just barely catching up to her.

"Elsa!" He yelled.

"Go away, Jonathan!" She yelled at him. "This isn't your fight!"

"Elsa, you-"

"Go, Jonathan!" Elsa dug her heel into her horses' side again and pulled ahead of him and into the outpost.

Night fell, but Elsa didn't stop. She knew her horse couldn't take more of it, so she slowed slightly, but couldn't stop now. She had her mission in mind. She had her one last goal. And nothing would stop her from completing it.

Kris slung his pack over his shoulder and took a deep breath. This was the day. He still couldn't shake the feeling that he was making a terrible mistake, but there was no other choice. That day would be the beginning of the end.

Ralph walked up next to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "You ready mate?" he asked.

Kris swallowed and nodded.

"We better hurry. Storm's coming, by the look of it."

Kris walked to a window and looked out. A massive sea of black clouds was heading right for Arendelle. Kris got a bad feeling in his gut, but couldn't do anything now. "Alright," he said at last. "Let's go."

Elsa rode on, the fire within her growing hotter with every gallop of her horse, every inch closer she got to Arendelle. Finally, on the second day of her flight, as they reached the crest of the mountain, Elsa stopped her horse and looked down. There lay the city of Arendelle, covered in a blanket of white and brown. The large estates dotted the top part of the mountain, the smaller ones closer to the sea. And in the center of it all was the castle. Elsa smiled to herself, reveling in the fire that burned within her. All around her, a massive storm raged. Snow, ice and hail swirled around her in incredible intensity. Any ordinary human wouldn't have been able to even see through it. Elsa held tight to the reins and sped down the mountain.

As she rode she let her powers run wild with every fleeting emotion. She passed one of the larger estates. The storm that raged around her battered against the mansion, ripping off roofing tiles and shaking the house like it was the center of an earthquake. As she passed, the wood and bricks that held the house together began to separate and crumble, leaving entire walls completely destroyed.

Elsa ruined everything in her path, then arrived at the city wall. She laughed in her madness, and raised her hands at the wall. She let a huge spray of power surge from them, right at the walls. Ice and hard packed snow shot at high speed right at the wall. In three seconds, the gates and wall surrounding them exploded from the pressure and flew backwards into the city. Elsa rode her horse right through.

Kris and his men struggled through the massive blizzard.

Visibility was zero. Kris and Ralph held onto each other so as to not get separated, but Kris sensed that the rest of his men were scattered. There was no way they could fight the war in these conditions.

Even with Kris' scarf covering his entire face it still stung as shards of ice hit it. His entire body felt like it was about to freeze, despite the heavy winter gear he wore. He could hardly even walk with the strength of the storm moving against them. Kris and Ralph walked along blindly, expecting to run into a wall at any second. Kris could just barely make out Ralph's face against the white landscape, even though he was just inches from him.

Kris didn't think it was possible, but somehow, the storm got even stronger and colder. An explosion rocked the ground, though Kris could hardly hear it over the roar of the wind in his ear. The storm continued to grow in intensity beyond what Kris could have imagined. He and Ralph ran into a wall at last, straightened themselves on it, catching their breath, then started walking again.

Elsa dismounted her horse and walked through the city. She kept her eyes set on the castle as the storm continued to grow in intensity. Getting there was all that mattered now.

She walked through the city and right up to the bridge to the courtyard with no resistance. The guards there were stumbling about, trying to keep their balance. Elsa calmed the storm in a small circle around her and the guards. They looked up and met her eyes. She bared her teeth in a cold smile, then walked right between them. They knew better now than to try to stop her.

Elsa walked along the bridge and into the courtyard. She was surprised to see some tents set up in front of the castle doors. She calmed the storm around the courtyard. Peasants poked their heads out of their tents to see their former queen in all her terrifying power. People gazed from the castle windows as she stood in the center of the courtyard, unwelcome yet unstoppable. She reveled in the fear she saw in their faces. It was right of them to fear her, she thought.

She lifted her voice. "Hans!" She yelled. "How long will you hide in your palace, coward? You send your soldiers after me, sending them to their death. Come out of your hole, and we will settle this...once and for all." After a moment, the castle doors opened, and soldiers streamed out. With a flick of her hand, Elsa used her power to throw them up against the walls of the courtyard and bind them there with ice shackles. A moment later, more soldiers came out. She had them stuck to the wall as well, but they were the sorcerers. A moment later they had freed themselves and were heading right towards her, but this time she was prepared. She was full of energy and hate.

They surrounded her once again and used their combined energy to shoot a ring of fire at her, as they had done before, closing in on her. She combated it with ice, as she had done before, and after just seconds began to gain ground. In another second she had overcome them. After a moment of surprise, they created blades of fire, prepared to fight. Elsa attacked first, sustaining her blade with her mind so it didn't melt. Their blades were made of flames, but oddly enough the flames were solid when touched by her blade. Elsa drew ice daggers at her first opponent. He dodged them but gave her just wide enough of an opening. His head fell to the ground with a thunk, his body following. The next soldier went down similarly. Elsa turned to the next ones, who had ganged up on her now, but held them off. Elsa kicked on in the gut before he had time to block, freezing him solid into a statue of ice. Elsa stabbed the next one in the abdomen.

The last she spun around, parried, then spun again. Lifting her foot she knocked the blade right out of his hand, grabbed him by the neck and squeezed. Elsa was surprised by her own strength. He fought against her, putting his hands to hers, trying to wrench himself free, but she held on. Finally his eyes lolled into the back of his hand and his body went limp. Elsa dropped him and stepped away from the corpses, adrenaline coursing through every inch of her body.

"Your men can do nothing against me." She yelled. "They never have been able to. Come out, Hans!" The crowd watched eagerly, their faces showing the full horror and shock of what they had just seen.

A minute of silence. Elsa tapped her foot impatiently as she waited. Finally, a lone man came out of the gate. He was young, maybe Elsa's age. He had neatly brushed and cut red hair, handsome sideburns, an honest face and noble bearings. He wore nice clothes, the same clothes he had worn to the coronation. Hans.

Elsa laughed, aware of the edge of madness in it. "Come here!" Hans walked towards her, fighting to keep his honor intact, but the fear in his face was evident. The mask was gone. The confident, wise, young king was gone. In it's place was a man who was terrified, but also a man who was insane. Who had killed her sister. Who had killed countless soldiers and peasants, who had forced the city into rebellion. Elsa was disgusted just by looking at him.

"Kneel." She ordered with a grin. Hans looked left to right, embarrassed by his complete loss of honor and self respect. "I said _kneel._" He yelled, gritting her teeth. Hans looked back to her and obeyed, bending down on both knees and bowing his head. "Tell me this, King of Arendelle. Why did all those soldiers have to die? Young ones who had never seen the world, never had a chance. You sent them straight to hell. Why did..." Elsa nearly lost control, but swallowed and moved on. "Why did Anna have to die?" Elsa couldn't take it any more. She lifted her leg and kicked Hans across the cheek. He fell to the ground. Elsa bent over him and delivered a strong punch to his abdomen. "Hurts, doesn't it?" Elsa mocked. Hans tried to right himself to fight back, but Elsa knocked him to the ground with another blow to the face. "You should know," she continued, "Anna asked me to tell you that she was sorry." She couldn't contain the raw hate in her words. She couldn't contain the fury. The wrath. She didn't want Hans dead. She wanted him to feel every ounce of the pain that she had felt. She would make sure that he did, and would never forget it.

With a shove of her hand Hans shot into the air and landed with his back to the wall of the courtyard, held up by an invisible force. Elsa walked over to him, her breaths heavy, her heart beating like a drum. She came right up to his face, just an inch away from it. She pulled her arm back and delivered a punch to his face, then another, then another. She couldn't hold it back anymore. She let go of herself, hitting him like he was a punching bag. She screamed at him as she did, not entirely sure of what she was saying. His face bloodied up within seconds, streaming from both his nostrils. The bruises made his face look completely deformed. Elsa dropped him to the ground, where he landed with a thump and a groan. Then she lifted him back into the air and slammed him against the wall again, then repeated it. He groaned and wailed in pain, but Elsa didn't care.

At last she dropped him, bent over him and beat him more, this time all over his body. Her hands and clothes were covered in his blood. She punched and punched. Her knuckles grew raw and the skin on some of them split, but she didn't realize. She just continued to beat him.

She threw another blow to his face and heard a sharp crack. His jaw had been either dislocated or broken. Or both. He groaned painfully. Elsa enjoyed the sound, the sound of his misery. Her punches grew stronger. She felt a thick coat of ice form on her knuckles. When next she punched him in the chest, she heard at least one of his ribs crack. Maybe more. Realizing her new weapon, she punched even harder. Hans' unintelligible cries were desperate now. He groaned like a ghost and wailed like one of the damned. She could hardly even see the skin on his face now through the coating of blood. His face was completely disfigured. His clothes had been worn and torn. She stood over him and threw him back up against the wall, bringing another groan from him. He coughed up blood, then she began to punch him again, causing more blood to spill from his body and mouth.

She heard someone behind her. It took her a moment to register the voice. It was Jonathan.

He was yelling, trying to get her attention. "Elsa!" he screamed. "Stop! Stop this! This isn't you, Elsa!" She continued to punch, completely unfazed. "Don't you see it?" He yelled. "This is exactly what The Master wants! Remember what the trolls said, Elsa, Hans isn't our enemy!" Elsa continued to beat him. "Elsa, this isn't you!" He screamed right behind her.

She had finally had enough. She stood and whipped around in a flash, grabbing Jonathan by the neck, beginning to squeeze.

He pleaded with her with his eyes. She saw the fear in them, but he didn't beg, didn't plead. He just stared at her as tears welled up in his eyes. "Elsa," he croaked. "This isn't you."

In that moment everything seemed to stop, then start again, but ten times clearer. What had happened? Elsa released Jonathan without realizing it as everything settled in. She looked down at her hands, soaked in Hans' blood and couldn't put the pieces together. She had done this. She had done this. Jonathan was right. This wasn't her. Somehow she had let herself lose control, she had let her emotions take over her, and as she looked around, she couldn't fathom the effect of it.

She felt tears welling up in her own eyes. How had she been reduced to this? She looked over at Hans, now sprawled on the ground in a large pool of his own blood, moaning and groaning painfully. It was strange for it to come back right then, or maybe not strange at all, but something the Master had said popped into her head, so clear as if it had been spoken aloud. She was a daughter of chaos. She hadn't believed him, but she was starting to as she beheld the destruction she had caused.

Elsa looked around at the now terrified faces on the looks of the citizens of Arendelle. Her people. The people she was born to rule. The people she loved, now scared to death of her. It was all wrong. She hadn't wanted this.

Before she realized it she was running. She ran out of the courtyard, tears streaming down her face. She ran as fast as she could to the city wall. The blizzard raged around her again, but this time not in anger or hatred, but in sorrow and regret. She passed the city wall. Only one thought dominated her: she hated herself. All she wanted to do was die.

As soon as she was outside the city, she heard someone calling her. She knew who it was before she turned around. "Stay away from me Jonathan!" She screamed over the wind. "Please! I don't want to hurt you!"

"Elsa!" He screamed back. "Don't...don't go!"

"Stay away from me!" She repeated. She put her hands to her head and silently screamed. In her mind, she was ten years old again, telling her parents to stay away from her, to isolate her, so that she wouldn't hurt them.

"Elsa!" Jonathan said again, interrupting her thoughts. When she turned to face him, he was right next to her.

She recoiled. "Stay away! Please!" The next thing he did was so unexpected she didn't even react at first. He kissed her.

It wasn't a long kiss, but as his lips touched hers it was as if time itself stopped. Something changed instantly. She didn't feel hatred. She didn't feel sorrow. She felt completely content, completely at peace. Something about that kiss, that had been Elsa's first, had changed everything.

Jonathan pulled away and looked into her eyes. Elsa looked around. The storm that had raged around her a moment early had completely dissipated.

"How...how did you do that?" Elsa asked, incredulous.

Jonathan looked confused. "Uh, well I sort of stepped closer, put my hand around your neck-"

"No, no, I mean the...the storm." Jonathan didn't even bother to look. He kept his eyes focused on her. Elsa felt herself blushing, but still stared back at him.

A moment later he wrapped his arms around her and embraced her. She couldn't even react. All she could do was enjoy the feeling of Jonathan's heart beating against her head. It was then she remembered that just seconds ago she had almost killed him in her blind fury, and he still cared for her. Even though her face was dirty, he had kissed her. Even though her clothes and body were bloody, he still embraced her.

He still...loved her. That word that Elsa had all but forgotten the meaning for. He loved her.

Elsa wrapped her arms around his body, returning the embrace. She didn't care about self respect anymore. She cried into Jonathan's shirt, not knowing what else to do, not knowing how to hold it back anymore. Finally she pulled away and looked up at Jonathan, who was staring back at her, smiling. Even after all that, he was smiling.

There in Jonathan's arms, she finally understood. Everything clicked into place. What the troll had said, that the Master was the enemy. Suddenly everything made sense.

"Jonathan," she spoke, her voice scratchy and raw. "I know what we need to do."

Jonathan nodded. "Me too."

"We need to go back."

He nodded in agreement. "Yeah. We do. And fast."

Elsa pulled away and tried to think. They needed a fast way to get back to The Master. A small thought formed in Elsa's head. She didn't know how, but she knew it would work. "I have a crazy idea." Elsa said, turning back towards him. "You might want to stand back."

Jonathan took a step backwards. Elsa reached within her for her powers. She didn't have to go very deep to tap into the energy she needed. As soon as she released it, the ground shook. Elsa walked back towards Jonathan and grabbed his hand. Suddenly they were lifted off of the ground. Snow grew and packed underneath their feet. Elsa looked downwards to see legs forming underneath them, five feet high, ten, twenty.

A minute later a fifty foot tall snow monster had formed from the snow. Elsa didn't understand how it was possible for her creations to have life, but somehow it was. Elsa and Jonathan stood on the monster's shoulders, right next to his head. The monster cranked his head around to look at them. He had jagged icicles for teeth and red eyes.

"Marshmallow!" Jonathan exclaimed.

Elsa laughed. "What?"

"Marshmallow, that's what we should call him."

"You're serious?" She asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Always, Elsa, always."

Elsa chuckled softly, then grew sad. Anna would have loved Jonathan. Both were so kid-like, acted so innocent. "Okay," Elsa said, moving her thoughts back to the present. "Marshmallow it is. Let's go Marshmallow, uh, north."

Elsa pointed in the direction up the mountain. Marshmallow made a sound between a roar and a grunt and started walking, lifting his huge leg, putting it down, shaking then ground, then the next one. Elsa stood straight, keeping her balance as the monster moved. Jonathan wobbled and eventually sat down.

Elsa looked towards the horizon. Her mind was clear. Somehow that short time with Jonathan had made the difference. She knew who she was. She knew what she needed to do.

She might still have one last chance to make it right.


	26. Chapter 25

**What's up guys? Hope you're all having a good one. :)**

**Couple shout outs before we get going:**

**Megan Lyle: Thanks! I'm trying! :)**

**Jesusfreak: Yeah...sorry. **

**WinterKnight2104: Good to hear from you again! Good that, I'm feeling that right now too. Been having a hard time updating regularly through all the homework. But yeah, glad you're back :)**

**As always, thanks for the encouraging reviews, everyone. :) The next chapter is a bit lengthy so I'll try to get it up tomorrow but we'll see how it goes. **

With the help of Marshmallow, they made it to Iris in less than a day. Elsa got him running, and they made remarkable time.

They started up the mountain at nightfall. Suprisingly, nothing tried to stop them. There was no storm, no problems, not even any ghosts among the ruins. It was almost as if they were expected, which gave Elsa an uneasy feeling.

Finally they made it to the castle. Marshmallow walked right up to the stairs that led to the gates, which the lions that guarded weren't happy about. Marshmallow bent over to let Jonathan and Elsa off. The lions snarled and growled, but did nothing to stop them. A few goblins stood outside, staring at the newcomers with disgust in their eyes. Elsa and Jonathan approached the gates. When it became clear no one was going to open them, Elsa reached inside for her power and blew them open with an explosion of ice. The goblins cowered for a moment at the explosion, but regained their ground quickly enough. Elsa walked right inside, Jonathan right behind her.

In the great hall, if you could call it that, goblins lined up left and right to watch them as they walked, but none made a move. Elsa didn't bother herself with it. She knew her mission. For the first time since she could remember, she knew exactly what to do.

She and Jonathan continued walking down the endless hall until they reached the great doors at the end. Once again, she blew them off and walked inside.

The room was just as she remembered it from her last visit. The Master sat in a couch by the fireplace, a book in his hands, as proper and intimidating as ever. A fire burned steadily in the fireplace. Lamps were lit all over the room, illuminating the other furniture. Outside the huge windows, the stars gleamed in the night.

"Well, that was rude." The Master said, closing the book. "You could have knocked." He stood up and straightened his shirt. He was dressed formally, wearing a black suit and tie. The entire suit was just darker and lighter shades of black. "Well, it's all fine anyways. I needed a distraction. You get bored when-" He turned around and looked at them. He lost his tongue and his eyes became sharp and narrow as he stared at...Jonathan.

He quickly regained his composure. "Jonathan. It's been a while."

Jonathan seemed surprised. "Uh...yeah, it has. Considering I've never met you in my entire life."

The Master laughed, then turned back to Elsa. "I take it you've figured it out now?"

"I'm beginning to," Elsa answered.

"And I suppose you're here to stop me?" He finished the thought.

"Something like that."

The Master smiled. "Very well then. I have a thought. Let's play a game." He flicked his hand and threw Jonathan up against the wall with an invisible force, where he hung, his hands and legs pinned to his sides. He tried to consuct electricity but when he tried to use it, it stopped just inches in front of him, an invisible barrier blocking it's path. "It's called, Distract the Master. Rules are simple. ln a few minutes here Jonathan will die unless you can distract me enough to free him. Let the games begin."

Elsa couldn't process what was going on for a moment, then looked back at Jonathan. All that mattered just then was that his life was at risk. She didn't know if The Master was bluffing or not, but she seriously doubted it.

She turned back to The Master and gave everything she had at him. She fired ice daggers and snow, but as soon as she fired them they evaporated. She didn't understand how, but she knew she needed a new approach. She drew her sword and took a step closer. A moment later a blade of fire appeared in mid air and swung itself at her without a hand to guide it. The force of it was so strong it knocked her sword right out of her hands. She furrowed her brow in concentration, then ducked to avoid the blade. She quickly looked behind The Master, just for a moment. Behind him were the windows. She had a guess, and if she was right it might be enough.

She fired a round of ice daggers at the window, making it look like a simple miss. There was a sharp clang, and Elsa's guess had been right. The dagger boomeranged off the glass and came right back at The Master. Of course it evaporated before it could hit him, but it gave Elsa a tiny window. She ran towards him, ducking underneath the fire sword, drew a new blade from her hands and tried to stab him. A flame of fire came from The Master's hand and he grabbed the blade with his bare hands, even though it should have been sharp enough to cut it in half. As Elsa watched the sword evaporated in his grip, nothing but wisp of air in it's place. His hand looked completely fine.

Elsa wasn't finished though. She fired a new wave of ice daggers and tried to kick at him. He grabbed her leg in mid air, completely unfazed, and she fell to the ground head first with a thunk. Before she lost control though she created a small tornado of snow that swirled in the strength of a hurricane right for the Master. Although it started to evaporate the moment it touched him, it did surprise him. He let go of her leg as stars danced behind her closed eyelids. She heard Jonathan drop to the ground, gasping. She shook her head to get rid of her daze, then quickly stood up and ran over to him, but was too late.

The Master, now having recovered, flicked his hand again. Jonathan was now stuck to the wall on the other side of the room. "Whoopsie!" He mocked. "Round two!" Elsa gritted her teeth and turned her attention back to the master.

Elsa realized she needed a new strategy. She threw more ice daggers at him to keep him occupied while she thought. She risked a look at Jonathan and saw something different happening. Tendrils of root and earth broke through the floor and started wrapping around his legs. She didn't have much time. Elsa looked around. Right above her was a huge chandelier. It was a long shot but she didn't have a ton of options. She diverted a few icesicles that shot towards the ceiling. The chain that held the chandelier to the ceiling broke. With another blast of ice she shot it right towards the master. The ground started to shake in the instant between when she blasted the chandelier at him and when it was about to hit him. Suddenly massive tendrils of earth broke through the floor, slabs of stone exploding as they pushed through. The tendrils reached upwards, almost as if they had a mind of their own, and caught the chandelier in mid air. Elsa realized she only had one chance. She rushed into the jungle of tendrils, doging them as they twisted. She tripped over one, but quickly regained her footing and kept running. One of the tendrils grabbed her by the leg. She drew her blade of ice and sliced it off. Three more attatched themselves to her legs and right arm. She created a new blade in her left hand and sliced each of them off, then kept running.

She finally made it to the other side of the jungle where The Master stood smugly. She walked up to him, drew her blade up above her head and came down on him. A tendril grabbed the sword before it hit, ripping it out of her hand. She drew another one, but it was taken as well, but this tendril was different. Elsa turned around and just barely avoided having her head chopped off as it swung her own sword at her. She drew another and parried the blow just in time. She fought it back and cut off the tendril behind the sword. It clattered on the floor as it hit. Elsa turned back to the master and drew another sword in her other hand, and prepared to fight. More tendrils tried to grab at them, but she was prepared. She chopped and hacked at them, but new tendrils always grew to take their place. Finally, she turned to the Master and swung at him. A tendril of earth grew from his hand, a sword of solid dirt, and he parried her blow, but it had been enough to take his mind off of Jonathan, who was now up to the shoulders in earth. The tendrils fell away and he fell to the ground once again.

The tendrils that had been behind Elsa sunk back into the ground, leaving a massive, endless crater in their place. "Final round!" The Master called.

"What's the point of this?" Elsa asked, trying to get him talking, but was too late. Jonathan wasn't thrown into a wall this time, but into the ceiling. The massively tall ceiling.

This time, Elsa was pissed off. She reached deep within her and found a massive source of power, then let it go. Ice collected on the walls and began to crawl upwards toward the ceiling. Giant pieces of ice burst from the ground like the tendrils had, right in the Master's path. The Master backflipped to avoid one and then again to avoid the next. A strong wind began, swirling around the room like a tornado. The Master used it to push himself away from the ice, at times nearly flying on his wave of air. He landed right in front of Elsa and extended his hands towards her. Instantly a huge gust of wind pushed her back against the wall. Her back exploded with pain when she hit. She released a torrent of snow to fight against the wind. She started to walk towards the Master, but continued to slip on the floor towards the wall. She was amazed by the strength the Master possesed. Elsa started to grow weary, but kept throwing her miniature blizzard at his hurricane of wind.

Finally he overpowered her, throwing her against the wall. In the instant before she hit she willed another massive icesicle to explode from the ground, right under The Master. It caught him by surprise, lifting him off the ground and into the air. Jonathan began to fall from the ceiling. Elsa let loose a blanket of soft snow to catch him. He fell into it with a _plop _and lay there for a moment, stunned. Elsa began to worry, but then he sat up. Elsa exhaled, until she noticed the Master off to her right, applauding her.

"Well done, Elsa! Well done." Elsa turned to him, fuming.

"What was the point of this?" She demanded.

"To show you the extent of my power, of course. You may have distracted me, but now you see that not even you could possibly defeat me. My strength outnumbers yours excessively. Surely now you see that trying to stop me is impossible."

He stepped forward, putting his hands behind his back. "I will now confirm your suspicions. Keep in mind you are honored to hear this. It is the best kept secret probably in the entire world, kept only to Masters and their apprentences. During the Roman Empire, the most powerful sorcerers on the planet got together and presented this question; what is the one curse that will destroy an entire nation? The qualifications for this curse were simple, it could only be one curse. It could be on a person, a thing, anything, but it had to be one curse. Finally they realized that if they were to curse one person in a position of power from birth, it would bring down the whole nation. You know the fire that destroyed Rome, that the Emperor Nero blamed on the Christians? Well, that was the first trial run of the Curse. It didn't destroy Rome completely, of course. It hadn't been completely finalized yet. I was looking for an opportunity to try out this curse that all Masters hope to use at least once in their reign, and when your father betrayed me I was presented with the perfect opportunity." Elsa had been right. Or close enough. "It only became more perfect when Hans convinced Anna to give him the position of steward. His obsession with killing you only aided my obsession in destroying Arendelle. He came to me asking for twenty sorcerers to help fight you. I told him that I would give them to him, but that he would need to do me a favor that I hadn't decided yet. As soon as we made the agreement, I made up my mind. I gave him a vial of werewolf poison to make Anna sick with, ending the royal line, bringing Arendelle to complete and utter ruin."

Elsa swallowed and fought herself to stand up straight. She had to be strong, now more than ever. "Everything you told me...it was all to accomplish what you wanted, wasn't it?"

"Exactly," he said smiling, "when I told you that Anna was sick. I _wanted _you to witness her death. I _wanted _you to become bitter with Hans and lose control, as I trust you did. However I promise you that everything I told you was true."

"But _why?" _Elsa asked, confused. "I mean, the entire curse. What's the point?"

The Master shrugged. "Why not? That's not really the point. I was born to destroy, to bring chaos to the world. It's in my nature. All sorcerer's natures, actually. It's in yours too, Elsa. Like I've said, we're quite a bit alike."

"I'm nothing like you," Elsa countered sharply.

The Master looked annoyed. "Elsa, denying that fact will not do anything. You are, like all sorcerers, a daughter of chaos."

"I am _not." _Elsa repeated, staring intensely into his eyes.

He stared back into hers, not annoyed anymore, just intensey curious. A full minute passed as they stared at each other.

"No," he finally said. "I don't think you are." He smiled, scratched his head, then started laughing. "I must admit," he said, "you come with lots of surprises. Few sorcerers are able to deny who they are, my idiot son Jonathan being one of the few, but he doesn't posses a fraction of the power you do. I had ruled it out as impossible for a sorcerer with your strength to deny themselves. But you managed to do it. I never would have expected it, but no, you're not like me." He smiled, as if proud of her. "You are truly the most interesting and, to be honest, the most powerful sorcerer I have ever encountered. Thank you, Elsa."

Elsa stared at him, still confused, but trying not to show it. _My idiot son? _Jonathan.

"However, as powerful as you may be, you will never be able to stop the inevitable. After I found out how well my first Curse worked, I decided to try it on a few other nations. Namely, all those around Arendelle. Now one child in each kingdom is cursed just like you were, Elsa, and nothing can stop those nations from being destroyed, just like your precious Arendelle is about to be. And look at me! I've cursed four children in a week's time, and I'm still powerful enough to defeat you. As you know, I am immortal as a born sorcerer. I am the most powerful sorcerer who has ever lived. As soon as I am finished with Arendelle, I will move on to other nations. All of Europe shall fall before me." Elsa's heart sank as the weight of the reality dawned on her. He could destroy the entire world and not miss a single beat.

The Master clasped his hands together. "Well it's been fun, but my presence has been requested in Arendelle. Then I'm going to be doing some travelling."

"Arendelle?" Elsa asked anxiously.

"Another thing I didn't expect," The Master continued, "was the rebellion. They are strong willed men. I'm going to end it once and for all. Both sides will destroy each other. Then...well, then it will be over." He smiled one last time at her.

Elsa was about to rush him, unsure of what she would really do but knowing he couldn't be allowed to go to Arendelle, when something happened. From the center of the room, a small red ball of energy began to form in mid air over the floor. It grew in strength until Elsa felt the heat radiating off of it on her skin. It expanded into a large star as tall as she was. Then it exploded, knocking Elsa off her feet and into the wall. Stars danced in her eyes when she hit. When she regained her sight, a massive red dragon stood in the room. An actual dragon. When Elsa made a closer examination, she realized that it wasn't actually red; it was completely made out of fire. She didn't have time to examine it closer, though, because the Master was already on it's back, preparing for take-off. The dragon lifted it's head, crashing right through the roof, then rearing up on it's hind legs, pawing at the ceiling. Rubble and wood fell and crashed onto the floor. Elsa put her arm over her head on instinct as the creature continued to destroy it. At last, he came back down on his four legs, then spread wings Elsa hadn't noticed before. They extended in their firey splendor, and with two flaps he rose above the roof. Elsa covered her face from the hot wind that the dragon left. Then it was gone. Elsa stood and rushed to the windows, where she could see it gliding through the sky, heading towards Arendelle.

Elsa caught her breath. Jonathan walked up next to her, soaked from the now melted snow that she had used to break his fall.

"Uh...thanks for not letting me die."

Elsa turned to face him. "Do you know him? I mean, really?" She was having a hard time accepting that The Master was actually his _father, _but Elsa realized that it made a lot of sense.

He shook his head. "No...but I'm beginning to guess."

"We have to stop him." Elsa said, determined.

Jonathan laughed. "Stop him? I think we've already figured out how-"

"We _have _to." Elsa repeated. "If we don't nothing will stop him from destroying every nation on Earth."

"But _how _Elsa?" He said, frustrated.

"I don't know yet, I just know that we have to. Or..." She didn't need to finish the thought.

Jonathan nodded solemnly. "Okay then. Let's go get Marshmallow."


End file.
